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"Today's Chapel Sing may look different than the event of Dr. Roberts' day, but the bonds formed between pledge class brothers continue to be strong and loud."
by John R. Roberts '83
It goes without saying that any group of people cannot become a "team" until they have been challenged with a common obstacle. The most recent compelling illustration of this point was the portrayal of the men in the movie "Saving Private Ryan." I certainly don't want to equate my fraternity experiences to those of the men at Normandy, but for an 18-year-old in the fall of 1979, the rigors of pledgeship were pretty challenging.
As a clueless "rhyne," I joined 27 other young men from many different backgrounds. They would become my "pledge brothers" and, later, some of my best friends. All but one made it to the end of pledgeship. I know the whereabouts and activities of all but two. I could recount a hundred experiences that, when taken individually, sound like little more than ridiculous fraternity stunts. But they led to something greater. It wasn't until the end of that fall that I was able to grasp the bond that had developed between the members of our class. We felt an extreme sense of accomplishment and pride. We even called the upperclassmen "friends."
I recall being road-tripped with Parvin Gillim '83 early in the semester. Our pledge brothers were told we were missing and they would have to do push ups until we returned. Parv and I hardly knew each other at the time. Rob Stevenson '81 and Alan Clauser '81 drove us around in circles for 30 minutes before they dropped us about half a mile from Wabash. We didn't panic, but used the few non-cultivated brain cells between us to figure out where we were and made it back to the house in about 20 minutes. The actives were shocked and dismayed to see us jogging up Wabash Avenue and our pledge brothers reveled in our impertinence (as did their triceps).
Another memory involves Mike Lewinsky '82, now an attorney for a prominent Indianapolis law firm. He had a little stuffed monkey that he always had to have nearby when studying. He called it the "study ape." Led by Ralph Olson '83, a few guys in the class kidnapped that monkey. The entire pledge class took part in hiding the ape and littering the Beta house with clues and ransom demands. We kept it up the entire semester. We also did a LOT of push ups.
To those who weren't there, these events no doubt appear ridiculous and without purpose. On the other hand I'm sure many of the readers can recount similar endeavors. I truly feel that fraternities at Wabash are unique in their ability to promote positive change in young men. When I add up all the silly things we did to drive the actives crazy and to maintain our sanity, I realize pledgeship was the most intense team-building exercise of my life. I didn't capture a pill box or save a mother's last son, but I did learn to work with others and to build friendships that will last a lifetime. | <urn:uuid:c5748884-0d2c-41d7-9e3c-55eb7b7b7c29> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wabash.edu/magazine/1998/fall/features/brothers.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983679 | 652 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Aarti Kapur, Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 18. The Indian Railways will have a new face in the near future with Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal conceptualising a number of innovative plans for its expansion and renovation.
Interacting with The Tribune, Bansal said the country would require 33,000 more railway coaches over the next five years. The present number was 51,000.
To meet the demand, the ministry was planning to set up more rail coach factories in the country. He said the Haryana Government had recently offered land in the state to set up a coach factory and the railway officials were evaluating the feasibilities of the area proposed by the state.
Passengers’ safety was on top of the agenda and the railways planned to spend Rs 1.10 lakh crore on improving their safety in the next five years, the minister added.
A proposal to set up a railway Information Technology unit in Chandigarh was also in the pipeline. The railways had around 700 acres at its disposal in the city.
He said officials were working on the possibility of installing railway signal link and anti-collision devices here.
On improving the standard of food being served in trains, Bansal said they proposed to set up mini pantries in coaches. These pantries will have the provision for refrigeration and microwave oven to preserve and serve hot food.
In a bid to improve the quality of food, the ministry had chalked out a plan to set up state-of-the-art base kitchens at stations. The railways would allocate land to contractors to set up the kitchens, from where food would be served to the commuters in trains.
He said the railways was unable to provide mineral water bottles in all trains since only 6.50 lakh bottles were being supplied to it per day as against the requirement of 28 lakh bottles.
This problem would be resolved with the setting up of base kitchens at railway stations, the minister said.
Bansal said to reduce rail accidents on unmanned railway crossings, the ministry proposed to construct overpasses, for which 10 states had already given their concurrence to share 50 per cent of the construction cost.
He said there were 32,000 level crossings in the country, of which 18,000 were manned and 14,000 unmanned.
The ministry had recently mooted a proposal to permit the construction of overpasses at level crossings after conducting a survey of rail traffic on such sections. The ministry and the state would bear 50 per cent of the construction cost.
Bansal said instructions had been issued to all states seeking new tracks in their area to share the construction cost of the tracks besides providing land for the same. | <urn:uuid:c7e19f3a-487c-47ae-995d-5784546e05df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://maninblue1947.wordpress.com/tag/more-overpasses/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980835 | 554 | 1.625 | 2 |
Global Security Newswire
Daily News on Nuclear, Biological & Chemical Weapons, Terrorism and Related Issues
South Korea Pushing U.S. to Allow Atomic Fuel Reprocessing
South Korea is expected in bilateral talks this week to prod the United States to allow it to reprocess used atomic fuel, a move Washington worries would further exacerbate the North Korean nuclear impasse (see GSN, April 5).
Seoul and Washington are renegotiating an atomic trade agreement that allows U.S. firms to export atomic material and technology to the South. The existing deal, scheduled to sunset in 2014, forbids the South from recycling spent nuclear material, Agence France-Presse reported.
South Korea is arguing it should be allowed to use a new pyroprocessing technique it says is more proliferation-resistant than the existing reprocessing technologies that can produce weapon-usable plutonium. The Obama administration is concerned that the technology's introduction into South Korea would upset both North Korea and Japan and hurt international efforts to stem the spread of nuclear weapon-related technology.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry said the three-day meeting that began on Tuesday would focus on negotiating the legal structure necessary to permit the two longtime allies to deepen their collaboration in nuclear power.
U.S. State Department special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control Robert Einhorn and South Korean diplomat Park Ro-byug were expected to head up the talks.
"We will discuss the revision of the nuclear energy pact so that the agreement should put (the ties of the two countries in the field of nuclear energy cooperation) on an equal footing," the Yonhap News Agency reported Park to have said.
On Monday, Einhorn told reporters that Seoul and Washington were "working very cooperatively together" to prepare a new atomic trade pact (Agence France-Presse/Google News, Dec. 6).
However, the sides' thoughts on what the new trade deal should allow are actually very different, as is their thinking on the strategic ramifications of permitting pyroprocessing in the South, according to the New York Times.
"The United States opposes the spread of enrichment and reprocessing even to South Korea, because it wants to set an absolute standard to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation," Harvard University Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs fellow William Tobey said. "While Seoul does not pose such a threat, a hard-and-fast standard will be the strongest bulwark against weapons proliferation by other states."
Additionally, "any hope of curbing the North's nuclear weapons program must entail like restrictions on the South," he said.
South Korean opposition legislator Song Min-soon said the trade pact talks "will serve as an important test" of how Washington wishes to be viewed in South Korea. "If they pressure South Korea too much, it might spawn anti-American sentiment" and "calls for nuclear sovereignty," Song said.
The South would like to use pyroprocessing to recycle used material at its 21 atomic reactors to eliminate waste and produce additional reactor fuel for atomic energy production. Seoul also wishes to begin enriching uranium to low levels to produce reactor fuel. Uranium enrichment can be used to generate warhead-grade material and is thus banned under the present trade pact.
Park said the two sides were discussing "in what scope and in what methods" their differing agendas could be bridged.
Possibilities include constructing an enrichment facility in the South that would be managed multilaterally and transporting South Korea's used fuel to an outside nation to be recycled, experts said. These options leave unresolved what would happen to the plutonium that is produced from the reprocessing; Seoul would like to see it repatriated.
Washington, though, wants to continue to be able to hold up the South as an example for other nations to follow on producing nuclear power without relying on reprocessing or enrichment, Monterey Institute of International Studies senior researcher Miles Pomper said.
"South Korea would be better off to stay on the same path than follow the role model of North Korea," he said.
Some conservative voices in South Korea have urged for the country to develop its own nuclear deterrent to North Korea, though Seoul insists it has no intention of doing so.
A 1992 inter-Korean agreement required both the North and South to abstain from reprocessing and enrichment. While Pyongyang has violated the terms of the pact, Washington wants Seoul to continue to abide by the rules.
Seoul-based analyst Lee Byong-chul charged the Obama administration with "nonproliferation Orientalism."
"We must divorce the 1992 agreement," the Institute for Peace and Cooperation researcher said. "At the same time, so that the Americans won't have any doubt, we must declare that we will never marry a nuclear weapon" (Choe Sang-hun, New York Times, Dec. 5).
Feb. 14, 2013
A new brochure describes the origins and the work of the Nuclear Security Project.
Feb. 14, 2013
George Shultz, William Perry, Henry Kissinger and Sam Nunn laid out their vision of a world without nuclear weapons and the urgent, practical steps to get there in a groundbreaking series of co-authored Wall Street Journal op-eds.
This article provides an overview of South Korea’s historical and current policies relating to nuclear, chemical, biological and missile proliferation. | <urn:uuid:3ff0041e-3afa-45af-907c-2c42df4dba68> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/south-korea-pushing-us-allow-atomic-fuel-reprocessing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932939 | 1,095 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Zipporah Biketi didn’t attend the G8 meeting of the rich and powerful nations last weekend at Camp David. But still she was at the center of it.
President Obama, hosting the summit of the world’s leading industrialized countries, forged a New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. As the President described it, the alliance is an “all hands on deck” call for African governments to design and implement their own agricultural development projects with the concerted support of donor governments and the private sector.
At the core of the New Alliance and a gathering movement of similar efforts, like those of the Gates Foundation, ONE’s THRIVE, Oxfam’s GROW, and the World Economic Forum’ Grow Africa are the smallholder farmers of Africa, who are seen as indispensable if the world is to meet the great challenge of doubling food production by the year 2050 to satisfy the demand of a global population that is growing in size and prosperity.
Farmers like Zipporah.
I first met the 29-year-old mother of four in January 2011 as I began reporting my new book, The Last Hunger Season. Her family lived in western Kenya in a tiny house made of sticks and mud with a thatched roof that leaked when it rained. The youngest child, two-year-old David, was often sick; his belly was distended, a common sign of malnutrition, and he was plagued with a persistent cough. The two daughters were thin as twigs.
“Just as he said ‘Amen,’ he raised the machete above his head and brought it down with a quick, violent slash. Then, in a blur, came a second slash. Whack, whack.
Excerpt from The Last Hunger Season
“When you, as a parent, see your child not eating enough to be satisfied, you are hurt,” Zipporah told me, “but you are not in a position to control the situation.”
Her shamba, her little farmstead, was failing. The year before, she lacked the money to buy seeds and fertilizer so she and her husband, Sanet, planted only one-quarter of an acre of maize. Their harvest in August was merely two 90-kilogram bags. By November, it was all gone.
When I first met Zipporah, the Biketis were already deep into their hunger season, which is the time between the day when the food from the previous harvest runs out and the day when the next harvest comes in. It is a period of shrinking portions and disappearing meals. It is a time when prices soar as shortages spread, making food unaffordable on most days. It is a season that can stretch from one month to eight or nine. Zipporah’s would last nine.
But January would also prove to be a turning point. She had joined a social enterprise organization called One Acre Fund, which was working to overcome the lack of distribution that has plagued Africa’s smallholder farmers for so long. One Acre provides timely delivery of better quality seeds and micro-doses of fertilizer, along with training in proper farming techniques like planting in straight rows and placing one seed in each hole, and it also provided the credit to pay for these essential inputs. When I next met Zipporah, in February, she was collecting her seeds and fertilizer and getting ready to plant an entire acre.
Zipporah, who is named after the wife of Moses, was setting off on her own exodus; not an exodus of geographical distance but one of distinct agricultural improvement.
She and Sanet planted in late March with the onset of the rains, and then they diligently tended the maize stalks and weeded the field throughout the hunger season. The family grew weaker as the months went on; sometimes a cup of tea was their only nourishment for the day. But the maize grew ever stronger. By June, the maize stalks were towering over Zipporah.
On August 5, she was up before dawn and lit two kerosene lamps in the sitting room of her little hut. She sang a hymn as she began her work. Sanet also rose early. Barefoot, he walked to the edge of his field with a machete in his right hand. He too said a prayer.
As I write in the The Last Hunger Season:
“Just as he said ‘Amen,’ he raised the machete above his head and brought it down with a quick, violent slash. Then, in a blur, came a second slash. Whack, whack. He cut down two stalks of maize at dirt level and then, thump, threw them to the ground. He moved swiftly. Whack, whack, thump. Two more stalks added to the pile.
“The maize harvest, so long anticipated, had begun.”
Zipporah and Sanet, with help from friends, cleared the field that day, and then for the next several weeks they dried the cobs and shelled the kernels. When all this harvest activity was complete, they had produced 20 bags of maize. They were staggered by their good fortune; for them, it was a miracle. Their harvest had increased 10-fold. They calculated it would be more than enough to eliminate the hunger season, to feed their family through the year.
When I visited at Christmas, Zipporah showed me the blueprint of the new house she and Sanet were planning to build. A house of solid bricks they would make themselves, with a metal roof they could now afford from a maize surplus. David’s belly was nearly back to normal size, his cough was gone, the family was healthy. As they gathered for a bountiful meal, the Biketis were living proof of how agricultural development works, how in one year it can eliminate hunger and increase incomes and improve living standards.
Zipporah had gone a long way on her exodus from subsistence farming to sustainable farming. Her New Year’s wish was that no longer would they merely survive but that they could now robustly thrive.
The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change by Roger Thurow will be released on May 29. | <urn:uuid:a81d570c-24d6-4cf9-b739-7210e2ec6d37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.impatientoptimists.org/en/Posts/2012/05/The-Last-Hunger-Season | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982781 | 1,304 | 1.609375 | 2 |
October 9, 2012 ·16 Comments
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Abdi is one of the most serious boys I’ve ever met. In fact, in the hour we spend together talking, I only see him smile once – when I take his picture.
Abdi is 14 years old and lives near the village of Boodhlay; a small pastoral community we’re supporting in the eastern regions of Somaliland.
Like most people in this village his family is dependent on their livestock to provide them with food, milk and income.
He is one of ten children and the only of his brothers and sisters to go to school. All the rest stay at home and help to look after the family’s animals.
Every day he walks for an hour and a half to get to school and then the same again to come home. He has an appreciation of the power of education that would have shamed my 14-year-old self.
“My education is very important to me,” he tells me. “I don’t think that anything else would matter to me so much that I would make this journey over and over. Nothing is more important. I need to be able to help my family. When I grow up and finish my education I can do this.”
Struggling to recover
Abdi’s village is currently suffering the effects of poor seasonal April to June rains. Pasture for animals to graze on is extremely limited and water for both livestock and human consumption is scarce.
Already vulnerable as a result of last year’s drought, villages like this all over eastern Somaliland are struggling to recover and return to normal life.
“When there is no rain we move a lot,” Abdi says. “We move to different places in search of food for our animals. I worry a lot about having to drop out of school. If my family moves again we might not come back and I will have no chance of finishing my studies.
“One day I hope to be a teacher myself. But if the rains do not come again my family will move and I will have to follow them.
“Things are hard now. It is difficult to get food and sometimes our water is dirty. I never have any food during break time at school and so concentrating in class is hard. Sometimes when I get home there is nothing to eat either so I try to go to sleep so that breakfast comes sooner.
“There is no one else to look after me if my family has to leave. I would have to go with them and drop out of school. I wish we had a school where I could eat and stay. That way no one could ever take me away.”
Little to smile about
Abdi is one of the most serious boys I have ever met, and not without good reason. A 14-year-old shouldn’t have to worry about being able to complete his primary education. This is his right.
We’re already on the ground, working in a total of 21 villages across eastern Somaliland where we currently support schools.
We’re trucking in water and rehabilitating local water sources so that families, like Abdi’s, have immediate access to safe water in these difficult times.
If you would like to support our work in emergencies, please donate to Save the Children’s Emergency Fund, which allows us to respond quickly when disaster strikes.
Source:Save the Children | <urn:uuid:e31aa3a6-6c2e-4352-9ee3-d69698e3fc57> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://somalilandpress.com/somaliland-abdi-%E2%80%93-a-serious-boy-mark-kaye-35859 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979801 | 732 | 1.570313 | 2 |
National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre is testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee today, representing his organization's views at the first hearing on gun control since the mass shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The NRA has been widely criticized for its response to that tragedy. LaPierre, in particular, has come under fire for his suggestion to place armed guards in schools, and his claim that gun-free school zones make children sitting targets.
During his post-Sandy Hook press conference, NRA President Wayne LaPierre said that gun-free school zones "tell every insane killer in America that schools are their safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk."
LaPierre's claim doesn't actually hold up against the data. Statistics from the Department of Justice show his claim that schools are magnets for "insane killers" is provably wrong.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that "the percentage of youth homicides occurring at school remained at less than 2 percent of the total number of youth homicides over all available survey years."
As this chart demonstrates, when it comes to homicides, gun-free schools aren't the problem:
Despite media coverage surrounding school shooting tragedies, children are actually rarely murdered at school. It's actually when they're not in school that kids are most at risk. | <urn:uuid:2dd8129a-71e8-4cd9-9c04-77dc5431e850> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessinsider.com/nra-guns-school-shooting-2013-1?pundits_only=0&get_all_comments=1&no_reply_filter=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975287 | 261 | 1.640625 | 2 |
A step-by-step guide to finding and buying songs and albums at the iTunes Store.
The volume that songs play back at in the iTunes can be different. This can be annoying – especially if you’ve just turned the volume up to hear a quiet song and the next one half deafens you. Sound Check is a tool built into iTunes that plays all songs at roughly an equal volume.
Most people find for songs, movies, and TV shows by searching the iTunes Store. But it's not the only way. You can also browse content in the store. Here's how.
The data management tools that iTunes offers to iPhone users are pretty powerful. Syncing your iPhone to iTunes can be much more than just a dump of data to your phone. Learn how to manage even the most minute sync settings.
Keeping your data in sync across multiple computers and mobile devices can be very difficult. Or at least, it used to be. Thanks to Apple's free iCloud service, it's now much easier. Learn how to set up and use iCloud here.
The 2013 About.com Readers' Choice Awards at the iPhone/iPod saw over 375 products nominated to be the for top picks in 18+ categories.
An iTunes Allowance can be a pretty neat gift. After all, what's better than having iTunes Store credit show up in your account every month, like magic? While not quite as easy as sitting back and letting the money appear, setting up an iTunes Store allowance is pretty simple.
ITunes allows you to rip CDs using different file formats - some have better audio quality, some make smaller files. This step-by-step guide will show you how to change your iTunes settings to get the files you want.
While most of us do our shopping in iTunes for ourselves, music and movies from the iTunes Store make great gifts for iPod and iPhone owners – and the iTunes Store makes it easy to give gifts. This is especially great for birthdays and holidays, or just when you want to share your favorite album or TV episode with a friend of loved one.
Want to learn how to use the built-in Maps app that comes with iOS 6 and higher? Find out how to get turn-by-turn directions, 3D maps, and more.
The winners of the 2011 About.com Readers' Choice Awards for the iPhone/iPod site, and how the other finalists stacked up.
Publishing your own iMix to the iTunes Store for anyone to buy as easy as creating a playlist and clicking a few buttons.
Playlists can help you make custom song mixes, burn CDs, or sync multiple iPods to the same computer. Here's a guide to making and using playlists in iTunes.
Thanks to iCloud, you never again have to worry about losing songs, apps, or iBooks purchased from iTunes if your hard drive fails. Now, all your purchases are available for redownload whenever you need them. Here's how to redownload them on the desktop and on iOS devices.
Each iTunes account can authorize up to 5 computers. In most cases, this isn't a problem. However, those 5 authorizations can get used up quickly if we sell a computer and forget to deauthorize it or if a computer dies before we can deauthorize it. In that situation, your iTunes account provides a way to deauthorize iTunes on old or dead computers.
The iTunes Store may have tons of terrific content, but it's not all appropriate for kids. Parents who wants to let their kids access some parts of iTunes, but not others, can use its built-in parental controls.
One of the neatest features of Apple's iOS is the ability to run apps from the App Store. Read on to learn how to buy and download apps from the App Store and how to sync them to your iOS device for use.
Having email accounts set up on your iPhone is just the first step. With that done, you'll also want to learn the ins and outs of sending messages, too.
If you want to use an iPod, iPhone, or iPad, also using iTunes is practically (though not technically) a requirement. Learn where to download and install iTunes on Windows.
In addition to automatically making playlists of songs that will sound good together from the music you already have in your iTunes library, iTunes Genius can help you discover new music at the iTunes Store based on the music you already have and like.
If you've moved, gotten a new bank, or want to change your Apple ID, you'll need to update your account information in iTunes. Here's what you need to know to do that.
With the release of iTunes 11, Apple transformed the way users can shuffle through their music libraries. iTunes DJ was gone, replaced by Up Next. Here's how to use it.
An iTunes account is one of the most important things an iPod, iPad, or iPhone user can have. Without one, you won't be able to activate your device, buy music or apps at iTunes, or use a number of other valuable features.
You can customize your iPhone by changing the wallpaper--the image underneath your app on the home screen--and the lockscreen--the image that appears when you unlock your phone. Here's how.
Playing music on the iPhone's Music app is as simple as tapping the song you want to hear. But once that song is playing tap, the screen again to see a new set of options. This article explains those options. | <urn:uuid:f3d74ca1-14a8-40b8-8774-8a1117e494a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ipod.about.com/od/ss.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941432 | 1,125 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Start 2013 at the Library
December 28, 2012
Is one of your resolutions for 2013 to start your own business or go back to school? If it is, or even if you are just curious about where to start, the Grandview Branch will be offering some free programming opportunities that just might help.
Creating a business plan from scratch sounds like a daunting task, but Business Plans 101: for the Entrepreneur on Thursday, January 17th at 6:30 p.m. will show you the steps to do just that. Whether you have a business plan that needs some fine tuning or you are starting on page one, this free class will help you get your business dreams off the ground.
Life has a habit of getting in the way of dreams to go back to school. If you have always wanted to finish your college degree but was uncertain about the opportunities available to you, our program, Rising to Meet Your Ambitions: Returning to School as a Working Adult, on Thursday, January 31st at 6:30 p.m. is for you. Whether you are seeking a promotion with your current employer or considering a completely new venture, this free class may be just the jump start you need.
To register for either of these classes, use the links above or call the Grandview Branch at 816.763.0550.
Your new year may bring big changes like going back to school or starting your own business, or smaller changes like planting a garden or trying a new recipe. Either way, programming at your nearest MCPL branch can help. Next time you're in the Library, ask for a copy of your branch's Access Guide and the current Beyond the Books program guide. They are full of free programs to fill almost every need. We hope to see you often at Grandview Branch programs in 2013. | <urn:uuid:b479cfc3-7a7f-422e-b1a4-8c64aceaff67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mymcpl.org/blog/start-2013-library | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950416 | 369 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Eric D. Snider June 22, 2011
John Lasseter, the chief nerd-wizard at Pixar, recently gave an interview to Box Office Magazine wherein he explained some of the mysteries surrounding the universe in which the Cars movies are set. We appreciate the effort, but we still have many questions, each more unsettling than the last.
1) Were there ever human beings in this world, or is it an alternate reality where cars evolved instead of people?
We suspect it is the latter. Everything in this world appears to have been made specifically for the use of sentient automobiles, not (as the opposing theory holds) retrofitted by the newly sentient autos after the people all died out. There’s no indication that humans were ever here, no references to them as fossils, nothing. Moreover, the closing credits in Cars showed that the Cars world has its own versions of Pixar movies. This supports the “alternate reality” theory, as it is not plausible that the cars would coincidentally produce films that happened to be exactly like specific films produced by their human predecessors. They could have done it on purpose, we suppose, as homages, the way Gus Van Sant redid Psycho, but we don’t think so.
2) If this is indeed a world that has never been populated by anything other than motor vehicles, then why do the cars have doors and door handles?
The seats and steering wheels could be the equivalent of their internal organs, filling some function other than what we would use a car’s seat and steering wheel for. So what does that make the doors? Some kind of easy access for car doctors to get inside a patient? That’s weird, but we suppose we can buy it.
3) Where do the cars come from?
Cars 2 mentions that cars are made in factories, which means we do not have to contemplate the logistics of automobile procreation. Instead, we are faced with larger questions. Who makes these cars? Why are there different makes and models of such varying degrees of quality and reliability? With humans, it makes sense that you’d have a few “clunkers” here and there, what with genetics and natural selection and dumb people breeding and everything. That isn’t the case here. These cars are presumably being manufactured by other cars, each one created on purpose, not at random like so many people are. You’d think any lemon that came off the line would be scrapped and rebuilt.
4) At what point in the manufacturing process do the cars become living things?
Is it when the first two pieces of the frame are welded together? When it first becomes recognizable as a “car”? When it rolls down the ramp out of the factory for the first time?
5) Why is automobile racing the predominant sport in this universe?
The equivalent in our world is running, and nobody cares about that.
6) How does the caste system work?
Cars 2 establishes that vehicles such as boats, planes, and trains are also living things in this universe. What’s curious is that they’re all subservient to the cars. Perhaps that cargo ship is being paid a reasonable salary for his labors, hauling cars and their stuff across oceans. But think about it: He was built as a cargo ship. What else was he going to do for a living? He was destined to be a cargo ship from the moment he came out of the cargo ship factory. It’s disturbing to contemplate a society where your life’s path is pre-determined based on how you’re built.
7) Out of respect for the late Paul Newman, they left the character of Doc Hudson out of Cars 2. But George Carlin is just as dead, and all they did was get somebody else to voice his character. What’s up with that?
His name even had the word “car” in it, and we know for a fact that the Cars people love crap like that.
Categories: No CategoriesTags: Cars, Cars 2 | <urn:uuid:8e0b39b5-8366-48e2-8a91-47aff0734513> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.film.com/movies/unsettling-questions-raised-by-the-alternate-reality-in-cars | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975924 | 850 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Our Top Stories
More Than 2.7 Million Records Released
04:00 PM EDT
In September 2009, the President announced that—for the first time in history—White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in July 2012. Today’s release also includes visitor records generated prior to September 16, 2009 that were requested by members of the public in September 2012 pursuant to the White House voluntary disclosure policy. This release brings the total number of records made public by this White House to more than 2.7 million—all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section.
Ed. note: For more information, check out Ethics.gov. | <urn:uuid:8693204b-8e59-4997-bdcf-e9de46fa9657> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/10/26/more-27-million-records-released | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960672 | 152 | 1.71875 | 2 |
A group that seeks to share some of the latest trends and developments BEHIND the news. This is done through:
occasional "New Knowledge for New Africa" Alert which offers brief insights into an emerging news that might not make mainstream news
occasional "New Knowledge for New Africa" Digest offering articles of the week that were buried behind the headlines.
occasional commentary on an emerging story of the beautiful and flawed continent that is Africa! Share and enjoy!
Above all, it is about ANTICIPATING trends that are likely to affect Africa. This includes those on technology; aviation; agriculture; infrastructure; and regional integration; etc...
## The list comprises media organisations in Ghana, including TV3; ETV; MultiTV; CitiFm; Joy FM; Radio Gold; and officials from some of Africa's regional economic communities, such as the AU; ECOWAS; NEPAD, as well as African integration specialists.##
Ghanaian Blogger, E.K Bensah, speaks about how Ghana can adopt geospatial technologies to socio-economic development and how journalists and bloggers can use the concept:
*this page is under construction* (last update: Tuesday 16 October, 2012 @ 12.50pm CAT) | <urn:uuid:959dc0c2-68e1-453c-a20d-bdc7d3658b2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ekbensah.net/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931058 | 261 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Think about it. I certainly did when I read the following in the Birmingham News this morning:
“Taxes Expected To Rise with National Debt, Aging”
- If you’re grumbling. about the size of your tax bill this year, brace yourself. Many financial advisers predict that tax rates are going to rise to cover the escalating. burden of an aging population and the federal debt. By KATHERINE REYNOLDS LEWIS Newhouse News Service WASHINGTON
This was the headline and the article’s lead-in first paragraph. Obviously, it is an attention getter. Some additional eye-openers in Ms. Lewis’ article include:
“Each American’s share of the federal government’s unfunded obligations amounts to $175,000 – comparable to a home mortgage with no collateral, said Stuart Butler, a vice president at the Heritage Foundation.”
“To cover the gap between expected revenue and the cost of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits through 2Q50, income tax rates would have to almost double, according to a July 2007 analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.”
“Of course, the government probably would reduce promised benefits and increase payroll taxes rather than solely boosting the income tax. Still, it seems likely many Americans eventually will refer to the current income tax structure as “the good old days.” And who exactly : would pay higher taxes?”
Ms. Lewis later suggested a partial solution…
“Take a long-term approach and save aggressively.” She clarified that by referencing…
“People need to set aside as much as they, can,” said Tom Papanikolaou, chief operating officer of Pension Builders and Consultants in Cleveland.
Yes, taking a long-term approach and saving aggressively makes sense. The issue is that most of us don’t have extra funds to set aside to pay our normal daily expenses, much less, pay a burdening tax bill. Duhhh….
So, now what? To me, the answer is as simple as going to your nearest mirror and looking into it. There you see the answer…it is YOU. You are the answer to taking a long-term approach and saving aggressively. The mirror shows you the solution each and every day!
Of course, the mirror cannot hand over financial well-being, however, it does show you where to find the solution. The solution is between your ears! It is your skills, your experience(s), your hobbies, your knowledge, your ideas that you possess. All you need to do is to share those possessions with others and your financial concerns will end, ..and a new future will begin.
Take control of YOU!
http://www.MakeMoneyWithWhatYouKnow.com has a free report that you might find useful to begin learning how you can take control.
Are You Going To Turn Your Ideas Into An Income?
Tweet This Post | <urn:uuid:aa7601ea-d540-4a79-bc6a-092fd660d3b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://frankkilgore.com/blog/tag/ideas/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962221 | 621 | 1.75 | 2 |
Putin Visits Chavez in Russian Bid to Grow in Obama’s Backyard
April 1 (Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will pay his first visit to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tomorrow as Russia seeks to regain lost influence in Latin America through energy and arms deals.
The highlight of the one-day trip to Caracas may be the formation of a joint venture to pump oil from Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt. Putin also plans to meet Bolivia’s Evo Morales, who like Chavez opposes U.S. policy in the region.
Chavez, who visited Russia eight times during his decade in power, has wooed Putin by signing more than $4 billion in arms deals and inviting state energy companies OAO Gazprom and OAO Rosneft to explore for oil. Venezuela was a lone supporter of Russia during the five-day Georgian war in 2008 and hosted joint naval war games later that year.
“Chavez has already signed up for more weapons than he can buy, and Russian energy companies aren’t really interested in exploration and production in Venezuela,” said Pavel Baev, a professor at the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo. “It’s much more a political project.”
The two countries fed off each other’s anti-Americanism as oil prices hit all-time highs in the final year of the Bush administration. Now, under the conditions of the global financial crisis, Putin’s successor President Dmitry Medvedev is seeking a more “sober” foreign policy, Baev said.
“Chavez isn’t the same as he was one or two years ago, but he still has money,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs magazine. “Russia is trying to get out of it as much as it can.”
Venezuela turned into Russia’s largest Latin American arms customer after the U.S. suspended weapons sales amid a chill in relations. Chavez has placed orders for Sukhoi jet fighters, Russian-made helicopters and Kalashnikov rifles.
Venezuela also backed Russian encouragement for closer cooperation among producers of natural gas, with Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez calling for exporters of the fuel to follow the same principles as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Igor Sechin, Putin’s deputy for energy, has pushed for the formation of a venture between Petroleos de Venezuela SA and oil producers Rosneft, Gazprom, OAO Lukoil, OAO Surgutneftegaz and TNK-BP. The joint company may spend more than $20 billion pumping oil in the Orinoco Belt, Sechin said after meeting Ramirez in Moscow in February.
“In the present economic situation, Gazprom won’t be ready to invest serious money in Venezuela,” said Lukyanov. “It’s more symbolic, a reminder that Russia is still the biggest player on the hydrocarbon market.”
Russia shouldn’t be seen as trespassing in America’s backyard because the U.S. itself reduced economic cooperation with Venezuela, said Vladimir Sudarev, deputy director of the Latin America Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
“Putin feels he’s repaying a debt by going, since Venezuela opened the gates of Latin America to Russia,” said Sudarev. “Competition with the U.S. is pointless in Latin America, but Russia can look for niches.”
Medvedev is expected to visit Latin America later this month for a summit of the so-called BRIC nations: Brazil, Russia, India and China. He visited Venezuela in 2008 on a Latin American tour that included stops in Peru and Cuba. | <urn:uuid:9ab76923-99ed-48cf-af4b-f44c7ec00901> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.intelligencequarterly.com/2010/04/putin-visits-chavez-in-russian-bid-to-grow-in-obama%E2%80%99s-backyard/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942867 | 794 | 1.734375 | 2 |
As noted here, diseases in 4e seem more trivial than I think they were intended: they rarely last more than one increment!
What rules can I make/break, or what actions can I take, so that contracting a disease is actually relevant or interesting?
If you are willing to start replacing rule subsystems to improve the drama, then you could take a leaf from the FATE Fractal (see more) and model suffering from the disease with a skill challenge.
Model as Skill Challenge
Since the default rules for skill challenges aren't as good as they could be, try these alternative rules. Diseases should be a complexity 1 challenge under this system.
During play, the skills used would represent the various actions the group takes to deal with the disease (whether it has infected one party member or multiple members). This could range from hunting special herbs with Nature to using Diplomacy to persuade an innkeeper to use a room as a sickroom.
Each failure in the skill challenge would move the infected one step closer to the final state. If the skill challenge fails as a whole - the infected suffers the final state and the disease fades over time. If the skill challenge succeeds, the infected suffers the worst state they reached for a short time and the disease disappears quickly.
Each disease should be different. Creating skill challenges allows you to go into more detail about the struggle with disease and make it more interesting than a few Endurance rolls.
By no means should a GM attempt to implement many all of the following suggestions simultaneously without carefully considering the implications; some of these ideas are brutal enough all on their own.
One of the 'problems' with the disease mechanic is that "an ally can use a Heal check in place of your Endurance check to help you recover from a disease" (DMG 49). This means the entire party's defense against disease is as strong at the party's highest Heal check. The one exception, ironically, is the PC with that Heal check: he is not his own ally and must rely on Endurance to recover.
A PC gunning for max in a skill might easily have (1/2 level) + (ability modifier) + 2 (racial) + 2 (theme) + 2 (background) + 5 (training) + 2 (feat) + (enhancement bonus), and then be able to add a primary stat using an encounter power like
Difficulty Class targets have changed over the course of 4e, compensating for power inflation (backgrounds and themes were not part of the original game balance). This is the current DC table; it can also be found in the Rules Compendium on page 126. If you want to challenge skill-conscious PCs at all, go for the Hard DC to recover and the Medium DC to maintain.
If you want to be more hands-on than using a table, look at your PCs' relevant modifiers and their skill-boosting powers. Take their modifier and add 10 to make a DC they'll hit just over half the time. If the party regularly uses Aid Another, take this into account.
Ignore the Monster Attack save
If a PC is infected by a monster's attack, rather than by any other vector, she gets to make a save at the end of the encounter. On a success, the disease is sloughed off immediately. I strongly suggest you ignore this: it turns disease into an encounter-long debuff instead of a long-term challenge, which in turn encourages strangely imbalanced disease designs with weird long-term implications.
Change the track's starting position
By far the single greatest contributor to the trivializing of all disease is that most of them start at position 1 on the disease track. This, combined with the fact that position 1 effects are usually minimal, means that a single successful check will cure it before it becomes a burden. You could make position 1 effects more burdensome, but that still doesn't change the fact that combined with the points above the disease never lasts long enough to make a narrative impression.
So instead, just drop the disease's starting position to 2. This ensures it'll last long enough to be noticed. (If the disease is one of the short-duration ones with "dies" as position 3, you'll have to invent a new position 3 and shove death over to position 4, or you may wind up with an entirely different kind of disease problem --especially if you've also pumped up the DCs.) | <urn:uuid:adbd460a-9417-4e89-b2f1-0b28c8505c5d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/20138/how-can-i-make-diseases-non-trivial/20143 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952151 | 907 | 1.507813 | 2 |
By Ross von Metzke
Originally published on Advocate.com June 12 2009 12:00 AM ET
When Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins used the 1993 Academy Awards ceremony as a soapbox to speak out against Haitians being detained in Guantanamo Bay for having HIV, they got themselves barred from ever attending the Oscars again. Two years later, they attended together -- and Sarandon won for Dead Man Walking .
Years before that, Jane Fonda was labeled a traitor to her country for her vocal opposition to the Vietnam War. Now, though some still question her tactics, Fonda is considered a pioneer and a hero by liberal antiwar activists.
There's nothing new about celebrities going out on a limb to shine the light on inequality and injustice -- but it doesn't change the fact that when they do, rest assured, they get attacked.
Take Rob Thomas -- smart, talented, certainly good-looking. As front man for the band Matchbox Twenty, he racked up a slew of hits. Partnering with Carlos Santana for the smash hit "Smooth" paved the way for a successful solo career, which has so far yielded the hits "Lonely No More" and the current chart-topper "Her Diamonds."
Up until recently, you'd have been hard-pressed to find much of anyone who has anything particularly negative to say about Thomas. Then he called Pat Robertson the devil.
He did it on Twitter ("If I believed in the devil, Pat Robertson might be him," were his exact words), and the hate mail started to flood in.
But that was just the beginning. The reference to Robertson was part of a bigger "Twitter-versy," as Thomas calls it. Thomas's big issue of the hour? "Why two people of the same sex shouldn't be able to make the same lifelong commitment and (more importantly) under the same god as straight people."
He followed it up with an excellent column for The Huffington Post . Titled "The Big Gay Chip on My Shoulder," the article, which Thomas wrote days before the California supreme court's decision to uphold Prop. 8, references McCarthyism, questions the motives of a "misdirected" Christian right, and suggests that straight people have an obligation to stand with their gay brothers and sisters for basic civil rights.
It's one of the most passionate pleas written on behalf of marriage equality, and it's written by a straight man who simply recognizes the need for "acceptance."
As he prepares for the release of his new album Cradlesong (in stores June 30), Thomas talked to Advocate.com about his passion for equal rights, his night with George Michael, and those "fucking great" rumors that his wife caught him in bed with Tom Cruise.
Advocate.com:It's been four years since your last album, (2005's Something to Be) -- did you finally take a break between projects or were you working the entire time?Rob Thomas: Mostly working, because when we put out the last solo record -- [ laughs ] we… I have a problem with my pronouns, because I'm so used to being in a band. I put out the solo record and then, there was like a year of touring that record. And then, as soon as we were off the road, we took maybe a month or so and started with a Matchbox record -- recording that, promoting that, and touring that. Understand, I've had a real job -- this is better. [ Laughs ] But it just constantly keeps going. Because I chose to have the two jobs of Matchbox and the solo stuff -- this would normally be the break between Matchbox records.
So you're a workaholic, then?Well, you know -- when you love your job, it's easy to not look at it that way. But my wife has to remind me sometimes to take a break.
The album is getting comparisons to all sorts of artists -- INXS, Tom Petty, Willie Nelson. Do you consciously try to channel certain artists when you're writing?Sometimes you do that in the production stage. But for the songwriting I really try to have as little pretense about any of it as I possibly can. I just go into it with a melody in my mind and I follow that melody until it's a song. Then, later on, I worry about, sonically, how it's going to come along.
You snagged Alicia Silverstone for the "Her Diamonds" video -- it's very different from the stuff she used to do for Aerosmith.Well, and I'm sure that's what she wanted to do. Dave Meyers, who directed the video, and who is just one of the best video directors... he's friends with her. We got out the look books of all the people that people had in mind when we were casting, and it was all of these models, these kind of Maxim girls. Because this song is a metaphor for this girl who has been crying so long, she's literally frozen by her fear and her pain, and because it's an acting job that's all in the face, we needed to have someone who we felt, her face and her eyes could tell the story. Alicia just has one of the most interesting faces, and her eyes are kind of dark, but haunting at the same time. Her idea was the wig, it wasn't mine, but I love the way she came across -- I think she looked amazing.
Well, and congrats, the video looks great.Thank you -- I'm really proud of it.
Another thing you should be proud of, and this is not so much a question as a comment -- your Huffington Post article on marriage equality is truly superb and is getting so much attention.Thank you -- I'm so glad that it has had the resonance that it's had. The Huffington Post is amazing in the sense that they let you write about whatever you want to write about. I could have written about pancakes. But I have a lot of gay friends, and I have a lot of friends who are in long-term relationships. A lot of people, when we talk about these social issues and civil rights issues… because the economy is in such a bad place and we're worried about nuclear war, some people say, maybe this isn't the time to worry about these issues. But if we're not worried about the inner sanctum of our quality of life, then the other stuff doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense to save the earth if you're not saving it for some sort of a purpose. So the idea of how people are allowed to live the days of their lives is more important than ever.
Do you remember when you first became passionate about this topic… I know this isn't the first time you've talked about it. Is there a moment you can pinpoint?I think even in high school -- I was the kid in high school who a lot of the kids stopped hanging out with because they thought I was gay because I had gay friends. But I was never put off by it. If you need to put me down and you think that being gay is a put-down, then you're probably an asshole. I always had that thing where I thought, Really? You think I'm gay? OK, cool. Now, more than ever, with Prop. 8, it's a much more timely issue. And I wrote it a couple of days before the last verdict.
You have a lot of conflicting messages as well -- you have a vice president with a lesbian daughter who, the whole time he was in the White House didn't support gay marriage, but now, all of a sudden, he supports gay marriage. And you have a president who, obviously, I support… but I'm really disappointed in his lack of a stance on the issue as well. The best thing that he's done is try and push it off on the states, which I don't think is a great idea, but it's the only recourse that there is right now, the idea that maybe you can systematically get the states to do it and then it will fall into place. But that's not going to help people in some really red states. It's not going to help people in Tennessee.
One of the things people are accusing Obama of right now is that he's seeming very out of the times on this issue. What's your take on that?I think so. He's a politician. He won the lottery of being the main politician in the world. You can't expect a straight answer. I don't think that now, in this time, this is any more of a relevant issue than it was 10 years ago. I think this was a relevant issue 20 years ago too. I think now, luckily, it's just becoming an issue that more people are passionate about. And the more you see it, the more people realize this isn't an isolated issue, this is all over the world. This is my neighbor, this is my friend, this is my teacher.
Something people seem to have a hard time grasping.Well, if you think about the absurdness and the arbitrariness of the argument... I have friends who are conservative and, when they started talking about the idea of teachers being able to say that they're gay… being able to be openly gay teachers, there was an uproar. They're scared of some sort of gay osmosis happening to them -- they don't want a gay teacher teaching their kids because their kids will be gay. But they don't realize that the teacher's already gay. They're just talking about being able to be openly gay. So it's not some sort of a gay osmosis. If your kid is gay, it's already happened -- it's done.
I always think, "don't ask, don't tell" doesn't just apply to the military -- it applies everywhere. And it's even in our language. We have this idea of tolerance in our community. That's the wrong message to teach. Tolerating something means that in spite of the fact that something is wrong, you'll tolerate it. I'll tolerate that you're gay. I'll tolerate that you're black. I'll tolerate that you're latino. I think we need to teach acceptance and the difference between loving someone for who they are and tolerating them. Even in our vernacular, we teach that. "I'm OK that you're gay." Well, "Fuck you. Of course you are. Why wouldn't you be?" "I'm OK that you're black." "Well good for you, you've validated me. I'm so happy for you." [ Laughs ] It's so embedded in our culture, unfortunately, we still have a lot further to go with people.
Like many celebrities, you've been the subject of gay rumors -- there was, of course, the Tom Cruise rumor. Were you shocked when you read that?Oh come on, that was fucking great.
It was pretty brilliant.Are you kidding me? It could have been me and Screech from Saved by the Bell . But Tom Cruise is a pretty big star. I ran into him a couple of years ago at some NASCAR event and, after everything, it was so surreal. I said, "Hey, hey, come here. You're my boyfriend."
So if the tabloids gave you the opportunity to hook yourself up with someone, who would it be?OK, hold on, let me think. It wouldn't be Tom Cruise -- no offense to him, but… Maybe Snatch -era Brad Pitt. My wife has a crazy crush on Michael Pitt, and I get that one -- he's a cute guy. My wife and I are pretty good at going back and forth on her girl crushes and my guy crushes.
Do you each have a list?Yeah, it's always when you're watching the movies. She's like, "Well, I think he's hot," and I'll say, "Well, I don't get it." We were actually talking about this, certain guys -- remember Val Kilmer during Top Gun . He was this gorgeous guy and then, something happened to him. Not just getting older, but completely becoming this different human being. Same thing happened with Jason Patric -- like in Lost Boys , who was better looking than Jason Patric? And then, boom -- this crazy switch over.
We're starting to notice it happening with Brad Pitt -- he's arguably one of the best-looking men on the face of the earth and, little by little he's starting to make this transformation.
Yeah, well, doesn't he have something like eight kids now? That'll do it to you.[ Laughs ] Yeah, you're right -- God, eight kids.
What do you make of the celebrities who seem to get deeply offended by the gay rumors?I think you definitely have resentment in your heart if those kinds of things bother you. It's telling of their point of view. It would mean when they meet a person who is gay, they think there's something wrong with it -- wrong enough that they don't want it to be them. I'd understand it if somebody said, "Hey, you're a child molester." But if you're Pat Robertson, you don't know the difference. Gay and bestiality and child molestation is all the same, which is why I think he's the devil. But I think it does say something about you, and I think it means you have a certain amount of intolerance, even if you keep it down low and you don't talk about it. You're definitely saying there's something wrong with being gay.
I'm half gay on my mother's side, Ross… I don't know if you know that about me.
Oh, are you?[ Laughs ]
So you've got to tell me the story about you smoking George Michael while you're talking about Pink Floyd's The Wall .Well it started with… I just couldn't believe how much he hated The Wall, and I find that a lot of guys of that age that are English can't stand The Wall because they liked Pink Floyd before and considered that the jumping-off point, whereas me, at 37, that's when I first was introduced to Pink Floyd and then I started listening to the earlier stuff later.
But the smoking -- I know George, he's a friend, we have the same manager, and we hang out when we get a chance… I do this thing where I pretend to smoke celebrities, like a bong. I know that it's the most childish thing you could ever do. That's the reason I do it. When you meet people, and you have a few drinks and talk to them, it's fun seeing who's up for it -- who has the sense of humor where they don't take themselves too seriously, they're up for it. George, of course, was up for it because George doesn't care. So I actually got a great pic of George where he was smoking a spliff and I was smoking his toe.
Not many people can say that.Yeah, George is a good guy. He is, in my opinion, a true gentleman. He even handles his misgivings in a great way. I've never seen someone so eloquently speak up for himself and own up.
So now that the solo album is done and you're ready to hit the road and start promoting it, what are the chances of getting another Matchbox Twenty album sometime soon?Hopefully. We're going to start doing some writing right around the time we start hitting the road for the solo, and then hopefully after I'm done touring, we'll have some stuff ready to get started on. We're so spread out now -- I'm in New York, Paul's in L.A., Kyle's in Nashville, and Pookie's in Florida. We're so spread out we have to be equally inconvenienced now when we make a record. | <urn:uuid:5bde06e6-8a3c-4262-91d0-f4c56df6c535> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.advocate.com/print/arts-entertainment/music/2009/06/12/something-be | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986104 | 3,318 | 1.710938 | 2 |
its human nature
Just to expand on this idea further: how would you explain why many humans don't have faith?
Faith is complete trust or confidence.
Faith is strong belief in a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.
This denies rational thought.
I agree with Tom Sarbeck that this is very dangerous and destructive in many instances. I went to catholic school too.
its human nature
Should be mentioned, the destitute i.e. drug addicts or those that are otherwise "down on there luck" have a tendancy to be susceptible to influence, substituting the void they feel for the god concept and/or a group to belong to that helps them thus associating god with otherwise negativity. Not eveyone is brainwashed at birth..thus the convict that "turns to god" etc...
Appealing to a person's weak mental state is a good tactic for indoctrination. Alchohalics Anonymous is a good example, on the surface it helps millions yet it teaches a need for a "higher power" taking self disciplin away allbeit in a kind hearted way.
Realigeon does the same thing..it (on the surface) offers peace and hope, then denies self confidence.
Just my opinion...
People have faith only because trained to have faith. People sustain their faith only because of the fear of god. Mny persons may give many different reasons for their faith but the truth is this that faith is sustained by fear of the supernatural.
I wish i had a good answer for you. I think it is an important and fascinating question you ask.
Somewhat humorously: I think part of the reason people have faith is being exhibited by the answers here to your question!
Most people don't seem to like uncertainty ...so they try to just believe in the first answer that "feels right" even if they don't have any evidence to support that. To many, having a possibly wrong answer is better than simply saying "I'm not sure, let me get back to you on that when i find out more"
I suspect it's not even the biggest reason, but it does seem to be a contributing factor.
Undoubtedly the most important source of religion is fear; this can be seen in the present day, since anything that causes alarm is apt to turn people's thoughts to God.
With all due respect to Bertrand Russel, i have to disagree. I suspect his opinion on the matter is being influenced by the time and place he grew up in. In todays modern world i see a lot of counter examples...
1. People with minimal fears turning a great deal of their thoughts and energy to studying, ritualizing, and "observing" gods. (Usually as a means to answer "big questions" and give a clam/clarity to their lives.)
2. People who grew up in religious surroundings in a climate of extreme fearfulness, but yet felt absolutely no inclination to embrace religion.
Honorable mention 3. People who are religious and grappling with fear who use much the same coping mechanisms as atheists, and who seem to lean on their belief in gods very little in problem solving ways to tackle their fears
I don't deny fear CAN be a strong motivator in religion, or other beliefs as well. But to claim it's the MOST IMPORTANT source of religion seems a bit of a stretch.
OK Joe, I think you are on to something especially with that last line. I think we do need to look at the evolutionary strength of religion. Yes there is something to be said for the fear factor and certainly the ignorance point.
I would have to say that a lot comes from the need to be part of something bigger than ones self. A lot comes from dependency relationships. The dependent is afraid of being the one in charge. (too damned much responsibility in that.) We (except for charismatic Nazi cultists) are rarely so dependent that we can totally subordinate ourselves mentally and physically to another human being. Though, stemming from childhood, we might all have a touch of this.
I do think all these factors and more enter in to the totality of the religious tendency in human society. Most big upsurges in religiosity occur during times of social movement and dislocation. Our society has become more and more atomized for variety of reasons and people have often responded by attaching themselves to charismatic religious phenomena. This gives some faux security to replace what should be there from overall socialization and social norms, but alas is not.
Then there is control of arbitrary surroundings. We sometimes have little control so in the attempt to feel in control we like to say a rosary or, if governor of Texas, call a big prayer meeting for rain.
My contention is that all these factors and more are important and that we need a comprehensive theory of the attraction of religion.
Everything you say is a truth, but a part of the truth. The kind of people you describe are only a small part of a faithful population. The common man acquires his faith in god as a personal god who observes all that he does, punishes him if he does not do good, rewards him if he does good etc. Thus effort is made to make him a good person by fearing the god. He he then is taught the importance of prayer and in this mannner is made so much dependent on god that he needs the crutches of faith for all his life. he remains a believer because he needs to be a believer.
Madhukar, your use of the term dependent is critical here. It seems that a good deal of religion stems from dependency. You describe it well and indeed I think it permeates most aspects of what we are describing here. | <urn:uuid:570211fc-d07d-43c9-a218-c2123e11f83c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.atheistnexus.org/forum/topics/why-do-people-have-faith?commentId=2182797%3AComment%3A1836818&xg_source=activity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973259 | 1,181 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Originally Posted by inspectorD
We also cal them resets(instead of recessed) because that is also what they do when they get to hot.
Absoultely not true. Not if installed correctly and with the correct lamps.
Of course they will melt snow on the roof of a cathedral ceiling. They are adding heat where none existed and this heat is inches away from the roof line. Also, in a case like this we are not talking about heat loss. This is heat gain.
I stand by my assertion that good air-tite cans in a well insulated ceiling have much less heat loss than one might expect. Of course there is some as I stated before, but not enough to "let all your heat out".
Besides, in new construction where heat loss is a factor, it is likely that 2x12 rafters are code. These cans are only 7"-8"deep. There is more than enough room to insulate very well around and above these cans.
Things have come a LONG way since the 70's.
I'm not trying to have a pissing match, I'm just trying to justify my opinion.
I've been doing this a long time too. | <urn:uuid:e96db0c7-1fed-4c2c-8297-863940e04bc6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.houserepairtalk.com/f9/lower-heat-loss-recessed-lights-1493/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975339 | 247 | 1.625 | 2 |
—(1) There shall be an Appeals Board consisting of a chairman and 4 other members as the Minister may appoint.
(2) The Minister shall appoint a secretary to the Appeals Board.
(3) Every member of the Appeals Board shall, unless the Minister otherwise directs, hold office for a period of 3 years and be eligible for re-appointment.
(4) The Minister may, at any time, revoke the appointment of any member of the Appeals Board.
(5) A member of the Appeals Board may resign his office by notice in writing to the Minister.
(6) Members of the Appeals Board may receive such remuneration and such travelling and subsistence allowances as the Minister may determine.
—(1) It shall be the duty of the Appeals Board to hear and decide all appeals against the appealable decisions of the Council within the meaning of section 53(1).
(2) In the discharge of its duty under this Act, the Appeals Board shall have the following powers:
to take evidence on oath;
to summon any person to attend any hearing of the Appeals Board to give evidence or produce any document or other article in his possession, except that no person shall be bound to answer any question or produce any document in respect of any matter which would have been protected from disclosure on the ground of privilege if the proceedings had been held in any court;
to order an inspection of the premises of any private education institution; and
to enter and view the premises of any private education institution.
(3) The quorum of the Appeals Board shall be 3.
(4) The chairman of the Appeals Board shall, when present, preside at every meeting of the Appeals Board, and in his absence such member of the Board as may be chosen by the members present shall preside.
(5) The proceedings of the Appeals Board shall not be open to the public.
(6) No act or proceedings of the Appeals Board shall be questioned on account of any vacancy on it.
(7) All members of the Appeals Board shall be deemed to be public servants for the purposes of the Penal Code (Cap. 224).
(8) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Appeals Board may regulate its own procedure in such manner as it thinks fit.
—(1) Any person who is aggrieved by —
any decision of the Council —
refusing to grant or renew the registration of a private education institution under section 36;
imposing any term or condition upon the registration of a private education institution under section 36;
suspending or cancelling the registration of a private education institution under section 38;
refusing to approve any change of the name of a private education institution, or the name of any premises or school (or any department or faculty thereof) of or education provided by the private education institution, under section 39;
directing the change in the name of a private education institution, or the name of any premises or school (or any department or faculty thereof) of or education provided by the private education institution, under section 40;
imposing any financial penalty, censure or other order under section 48(1); or
refusing any approval under section 50 or imposing any term or condition when approving under that section;
any requisition for particulars or information under section 62; or
any decision of the Council under section 64(3),
(each of which decision, direction or requisition shall be referred to in this Act as an appealable decision) may, within such time as may be prescribed under section 55 in respect of the type of appealable decision, lodge an appeal against the decision to the Appeals Board.
(2) Every appeal under subsection (1) shall be lodged in such form and manner as may be prescribed under section 55.
(3) The Appeals Board may —
confirm, set aside or modify the appealable decision to which the appeal relates; or
give such directions in such manner as the Appeals Board thinks fit, including a direction to the Council to review its appealable decision to which the appeal relates,
and the decision of the Appeals Board shall be final.
(4) The decision of the Appeals Board shall be communicated to the appellant in writing by the secretary to the Appeals Board.
(5) The lodging of an appeal under subsection (1) against an appealable decision shall not suspend the effect of the appealable decision to which the appeal relates, except where the appeal relates to —
any other appealable decision of the Council that is prescribed under section 55 as a suspended appealable decision.
—(1) A member of the Appeals Board shall declare to the Minister, or any person authorised by the Minister, the nature and extent of all conflicts of interest or potential conflicts of interest, if any, with his duties or interests as a member of the Appeals Board arising from —
his holding of any office;
his interest in any contract;
his possession or ownership of any property;
any direct or indirect relationship with a private education institution or any other person regulated under this Act; or
his connection or association with any trade or consumer body.
(2) Where the Minister, or any person authorised by the Minister, is satisfied that a member of the Appeals Board is unable to carry out his duties properly and effectively because of any conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest referred to in subsection (1), the Minister may replace that member or direct that member to abstain from taking part in any proceedings relating to any matter affected by his conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest.
55. The Minister may make rules for or with respect to —
the time within which an appeal to the Appeals Board may be lodged;
the form and manner in which an appeal to the Appeals Board shall be lodged;
the fees to be paid in respect of any appeal lodged with the Appeals Board;
the records to be kept by the Appeals Board; and
all matters and things which are required or permitted to be prescribed or which are necessary or expedient to give effect to any provision of this Part. | <urn:uuid:937cf8fb-7ff0-4aec-a363-b4005bf109bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;ident=916492af-d78a-4207-a42c-bf5295bf518e;orderBy=date-rev,loadTime;page=0;query=Id%3A%22d53e43a1-b99d-46c5-9897-50c704ddfb07%22%20Status%3Apublished;rec=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943199 | 1,250 | 1.601563 | 2 |
The smaller crowd this time around reflects the reality of second-term presidencies, when the novelty and expectations of a new leader have been replaced with the familiarity and experiences of the first act.
For Obama, that difference is even sharper. His historic ascendancy to the White House in 2008 came with soaring public hopes and expectations for a new kind of governance that would close the vast partisan gulf developed in recent decades.
However, a litany of challenges, including an inherited economic recession and repeated battles with congressional Republicans over budgets and spending, only hardened the opposing positions in Washington.
Obama's signature achievements, including major reforms of the health care industry and Wall Street, became symbols of political division, with opponents constantly accusing him of hindering needed economic recovery.
For his second term, Obama has vowed to press for an overhaul of the nation's immigration policies and new ways to boost the sputtering economy, proposals that are bound to spark battles with his Republican rivals, and oversee the implementation of Obamacare.
And the shootings at a Connecticut elementary school last month put the divisive issue of gun control on his immediate agenda.
CNN polling released Sunday showed a majority of Americans -- 54% -- believe Obama will be an outstanding or above average president in his second term, while 43% said he'd be poor or below average.
And while overall, seven in 10 Americans hope the president's policies succeed, only four in 10 Republicans feel that way, with 52% hoping that Obama will fail.
But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, told CNN, "Today is the day for all of us in this country to come together."
"I think the president did a fine job, certainly, laying out what he would like to see happen as far as the future of the country," Cantor said. "There are areas of disagreement, but there are also some things fundamentally we agree on, and that is this country is one of opportunity. And sort of the way we get there to help everybody, there are some differences. Hopefully, we can bridge those differences." | <urn:uuid:8c3c6879-ac56-4a36-b098-7e49b12f8398> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wgal.com/news/politics/Sworn-in-again-Obama-lingers-for-last-look/-/9360314/18209592/-/item/3/-/15ao2qwz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964896 | 418 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Wed December 7, 2011
Morning-After Pill Won't Be Available Without Prescription To Younger Girls
The Food and Drug Administration will not be removing age restrictions for a morning-after birth control pill — a decision that's likely to prolong a fight that has raged for more than eight years.
In a statement today, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said she was convinced that the product, called Plan B One Step, is safe and effective at preventing pregnancy after unprotected intercourse for women of all ages. Currently the product is available without a prescription only to those age 17 and over. As long ago as 2003, two FDA advisory panels recommended the product be made available over the counter without age restrictions.
Hamburg, however, was overruled by her boss, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. As a result, the drug makers' application to remove the age restriction has been denied, and girls under age 17 will still need a prescription.
There will be more in the Shots blog.
"It is common knowledge that there are significant cognitive and behavioral differences between older adolescent girls and the youngest girls of reproductive age. If the application were approved, the product would be available, without prescription, for all girls of reproductive age. ... Because I do not believe enough data were presented to support the application to make Plan B One-Step available over the counter for all girls of reproductive age, I have directed FDA to issue a complete response letter denying the supplemental new drug application." | <urn:uuid:23817de3-c06a-4d6a-887e-f48ae626fa57> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kios.org/post/morning-after-pill-wont-be-available-without-prescription-younger-girls | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947404 | 298 | 1.507813 | 2 |
North Korea has confirmed that it had arrested a US citizen in November, saying he had admitted to unspecified charges and suggesting he would be formally prosecuted.
The man, identified as Pae Jun-Ho, entered North Korea on November 3 as a tourist, and "committed a crime" against the country, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Friday.
"He was put into custody by a relevant institution," it added.
The United States has no diplomatic ties with North Korea and KCNA said consular officials from the Swedish embassy, which acts on behalf of the US, had visited Pae on Friday.
"In the process of investigation, evidence proving that he committed a crime against the DPRK was revealed. He admitted his crime," the agency said in a short despatch.
"Legal actions are being taken against Pae in line with the criminal procedure law", it added, without elaborating.
The arrest was first reported earlier this month by a South Korean newspaper, Kookmin Ilbo, which had identified the detainee as a 44-year-old Korean-American tour operator.
The newspaper said he had been travelling with five other tourists and was detained when a computer hard disk was found among the group's belongings.
KCNA said Pae was arrested as he entered the north-eastern port city of Rason which lies inside a special economic zone near North Korea's border with Russia and China.
Several Americans have been held in North Korea in recent years.
In 2011, a US delegation led by Robert King, the US special envoy for Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues, secured the release of Eddie Jun Yong-Su, a California-based businessman, who had been detained for apparent missionary activities.
In 2010 former US president Jimmy Carter won plaudits when he negotiated the release of American national, Aijalon Mahli Gomes, sentenced to eight years of hard labour for illegally crossing into the North from China.
On another mercy mission a year earlier in 2009, former president Bill Clinton won the release of US television journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, jailed after wandering across the North Korean border with China. | <urn:uuid:2a2dd67e-ca3c-4a56-bab0-2f77b08bdeea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/12/2012122111354065874.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98437 | 443 | 1.570313 | 2 |
05/12/10 By Bruce Klauber
Buddy Bregman's Swingin' Standards: An Overlooked Gem
An overview of one of the great, "lost," jazz recordings.
Buddy Bregman Swingin’ Standards: An Overlooked Gem
The 1950s and early 1960s could be called the golden age of the jazz LP. Certainly, we all know of the wonderful catalogs of Prestige, Riverside, Verve, B;ue Note, Contemporary and Bethlehem labels, but some great jazz recordings on labels other than the aforementioned fell through the cracks in terms of recognition. Perhaps the particular label wasn't readily identified with jazz, and/or distribution and marketing was a problem. No matter. There are several gems to be found on obscure record labels like Crown, Tops, Baton, Baronet, and a company called World Pacific, later renamed Pacific Jazz.
Founded by Dick Bock and drummer Roy Harte in 1952, World Pacific made their first splash by recording the Gerry Mulligan quartet, featuring Chet Baker in 1952. In subsequent years, until Liberty Records bought World Pacific in 1965, Bock recorded the best of the west coasters. Pacific Jazz remained a force in the jazz world until the early 1970s, maybe best known for issuing the first recordings of Buddy Rich’s big band formed in 1966.
Arranger Buddy Bregman was not a hard-core jazzer or a bonafide west coaster. Rather, he scored for films and television, including "The Pajama Game," and wrote charts for mainstreamers like BIng Crosby. Ultimately, he became more involved in jazz, and is best known for scoring the Ella Fitzgerald "songbook" series for Verve records. He is very much with us today at the age of 80, still scoring for Broadway, films and television.
In 1959. though always busy and in-demand, he was just another journeyman arranger looking for a payday.
"Buddy Bregman: Swingin' Standards," a World Pacific release from 1959, may have been just another days work for all involved, but the results are classic and maybe some label somewhere will consider putting this singular outing on compact disc. Indeed, this recording is featured on Bregman’s own site, www.BuddyBregman.com, as on overlooked gem,
This was issued on CD several years ago with remastered sound, but you'll have to look carefully for it, as it was issued on the Lone Hill label out of Spain, and current waiting time for ordering--if you can get it at all--is two months. It deserves a better fate.
No less than Fred Astaire said in his notes to the project, "It is to my mind, an album in which every item is a special attraction. All of Buddy's special arranging and conducting comes out in full force. It's a fine dance album."
And a dance album it is--the group, in fact, is called "The Buddy Bregman Dance Band"—but with soloists like saxophonists Bob Cooper, Richie Kamuca, Bill Holman and Bill Perkins; trombonist Frank Rosolino, trumpeter Conte Candoli; and guitarist Jim Hall, the jazz quotient is very, very high.
Holding these all-stars together was none other than the ubiquitous drummer, Mel Lewis, likely on holiday from the Terry Gibbs Dream Band, whose playing is a textbook example of how to interpret a chart, how to play for dancing, and how to play big band jazz drums.
I would suggest that every drummer of every age study Lewis’ playing carefully on “Swingin’ Standards.”
If I were a university jazz instructor, I would have these drum charts transcribed and file under the word "definitive."
The tunes, of course, are all warhorses—“My Buddy,” “In a Mellow Tone,” “Too Close for Comfort” and “Just in Time” among them—but Bregman’s bright and inventive orchestrations, the wonderful solos and the happy sense of swing throughout is ample evidence that this date wasn’t just another payday for all involved.
All involved must have taken the LPs title to heart: They are, indeed, swingin the standards.
It would be wonderful if those involved in the CD issue of this recording would do everything possible to ensure its wide release.
More Articles by Bruce Klauber
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Lorraine Desmarais Big Band
Lorraine Desmarais Big Band
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Chuck Redd, Honoree at L.A. Jazz Society Vibe Summit, June 9 | <urn:uuid:3c3ff8c4-7e06-45f4-99d7-34e8d8a8a80b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jazztimes.com/community/articles/40186-buddy-bregman-s-swingin-standards-an-overlooked-gem | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93933 | 1,119 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The quick answer is file a Form 982. But let’s explore what a Form 1099-C is, why you got one and what to do now.
What is a Form 1099-C?
Originally, the reason for the Form 1099-C was to prevent people or employers from claiming paychecks were a “loan” rather than income. This would allow income and payroll taxes to be avoided in order to defraud the IRS. The IRS considers canceled debt the same as income for tax purposes, even though you received no actual income.
When you owe money to a creditor and don’t pay it back on time, the creditor makes an accounting entry called a “write off” or a “charge off.” Essentially, the creditor is telling the IRS that it is not counting on getting paid back on this account and they won’t pay taxes on it. The creditor issues a Form 1099-C to shift the risk of tax to you, the debtor. The IRS looks to you to pay the tax on that amount, as if you received income. I know, you didn’t get any income and could sure use that money now – but this is a fictional income for tax reasons. As in many legal situations, you have rights but have to assert those rights or the law will act as if you have waived them.
Here is a copy of a blank current 2011 Form 1099-C.
Why did I get a Form 1099-C?
You received a Form 1099-C because your creditor is no longer counting on being paid back – for tax purposes only.
Does that mean I don’t owe the debt anymore?
No, you still legally owe the debt. As a matter of law, a 1099-C form is an informational filing with the IRS and does not legally discharge or cancel the debtor’s obligation to pay the debt. In re Zilka, 407 BR 684 (2009, Bk Ct. WD Penn). If you have paid taxes on the amount of a Form 1099-C and later on repay the creditor, the creditor should issue a Form 1099-C “correction” amount, and you would need to amend your tax return so you are not overpaying income tax.
That’s just great! If I’m understanding you, I still owe the debt AND I have to pay income tax on the amount on the Form 1099-C?
Not so fast – and this is why you should get help from a tax professional to file your annual income taxes when you get a Form 1099-C. Just because you received a Form 1099-C from a creditor doesn’t mean you owe income tax on it. It does mean you may need to file an additional form in order to explain to the IRS why you don’t owe taxes on the Form 1099-C.
The IRS created Form 982 so you can show them that you don’t owe tax on the Form 1099-C amount. Common reasons for needing to file a Form 982 are when the debt on the Form 1099-C was discharged in bankruptcy, is due to a home mortgage that went through foreclosure or a short-sale, or you are insolvent.
If the debt was part of a bankruptcy – here’s what you need to do:
- Open Form 982.
- Check box 1a – “Title 11 case” refers to the entire Bankruptcy Code, not the chapter of bankruptcy you went through (examples: Chapter 7 or Chapter 13).
- Lines 2 and 10a: Put the amount discharged in your bankruptcy.
Other situations when you do not have to pay taxes on the 1099-C amount:
- You are insolvent: all your liabilities are greater than your assets. Assets include exempt assets such as retirement plans. The formula is to figure out if the fair market value of your assets was less than the total of your liabilities (debts), at the time the Form 1099-C was issued. If you owe more than you own, then you are insolvent and the amount on the Form 1099-C is not included in your gross income on your tax return. If you own more than you owe, then you will need to add the amount of the Form 1099-C to your gross income until you get to even.
- Loans from your primary residence (used to buy, refinance or improve your home) through 2012.
Here is an example to help you understand the impact of a Form 1099-C on your taxes:
Credit Card Company sends a Form 1099-C in the amount of the $4,000 balance of the Jones’ credit card debt. The Jones’ have not filed for bankruptcy. Immediately before the cancellation, the Jones’ total debt was $21,000 and the fair market value of their assets was $17,500. Because the Jones’ debt is more than their assets, the Jones’ were insolvent when the Form 1099-C was issued. The amount of the insolvency was $3,500 ($21,000 ? $17,500). The Jones’ may exclude only $3,500 of the $4,000 debt cancellation from income because that is the amount of their insolvency. The Jones’ may also need to reduce certain tax attributes by the $3,500 of excluded income. The remaining $500 of canceled debt must be included in their gross income for that tax year.
As you can see, the IRS rules can be a bit tricky. It is always a good idea to seek help from a tax preparer to make sure your tax returns are filled out correctly. | <urn:uuid:eb3919af-964c-4f29-b084-7d5d80ae571b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ezlegalcoach.com/law-news/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963993 | 1,200 | 1.8125 | 2 |
What Are Addiction Programs?
If you or a loved one has ever been addicted to any sort of a substance then you may already know the answer to what addiction programs are. However, many people have no idea what exactly these are and this article is for them to have a better understanding, for anyone who may need help. This is when you should learn more about what these are to guarantee you are picking out the proper steps or program to help you in treating whatever affliction is being addressed. Dial 800-303-2482 to find addiction programs now to get the needed help for yourself or a loved one.
The first thing you need to realize is these programs are meant to help people treat any of the addictions they have. The second thing you should look at is these programs are generally tailored to the specific addiction you have. Something else you can and will like to see is these generally have a high success rate in helping people recover from the addiction they have. Finally these programs are something which many people have tested over time to determine how well they work for specific situations.
The first thing you need to realize is these are made as a treatment plan to help people in fighting any of the addictions they have. For example, some people are addicted to drugs and they can have a specialized plan adapted to help them in controlling the urges of going out and getting high. However, some people are addicted to food and need to use one of these programs to help them in losing weight.
Something else people need to realize and you may not have thought about before, is these are adapted to your specific conditions. Now the generalized treatment plans are the same basic principal, but each of these is run by a properly trained professional and can be changed around to meet your specific needs. For example, if the reason you are looking to have treatment is because you are diabetic and cannot stop eating sugary foods, the doctors or professional counselor will change the basic plan to help you get rid of your sugary foods addiction in a timely manner.
The high success rate is something else you can really like to see with these programs. Now you can kick a habit on your own without any outside help at all, but you need to realize this is harder than what you imagined and can easily lead to you having a relapse. With the relapse you will find your addiction to be harder to break. When you use the proper addiction programs, you can find they have a very high success rate at preventing the relapse you may experience if you tried to have some type of addiction treatment or intervention on your own.
Finally you can find these programs are typically going to treat your specific needs. Earlier it was mentioned these are generally adapted to suit you, but you need to realize the person overseeing the program wants you to succeed. So you can see they will do everything they can to provide you the support tools and everything else that goes along with treatment to ensure you have the support needed for success. Then you can finally break the habit you have had for years prior.
Being able to kick an addiction is hard, but some people need to learn more about what addiction programs are to help them in getting rid of the habit, and being willing to consider one. For some addicts they already knew the answer to what these programs are, but other people have never really had to consider this aspect before. Once they do this they can see these are programs developed to treat the addiction the person has.
Something else people can find is these are generally adapted to their specific condition by the professional guiding them in the program. At times you may question if these programs are legitimate or not, but you need to only look at the high success rates they have to see just how good they are working. Once you know about the addiction programs, it will be easy to see these are a valid treatment method for various problems people experience. | <urn:uuid:adafb035-a11b-44c7-b8c5-e1b54c4ee0ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://addiction-programs.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977478 | 781 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Somebody that sells produce at our farmer's market said that if you wait till about June 1 to plant squash, their cycle has passed and you will not get them. I have never tried this myself so can't say for sure this is true. I am just passing on what she said.
Most home made sprays use oil, garlic juice, dish liquid soap, red pepper, and water. I'd throw it all in, about 1 tablespoon each. I'd also go out with bucket of soapy water and knock any I found into the water.
If you can have hens, I'd let them loose in the garden to pick off the bugs, and then remove from area. I hear guinea fowl are good too, but a bit noisy.
Add your voice to the conversation. Click here to answer this question. | <urn:uuid:c96ade25-9694-4c58-a2cf-6bd303f36332> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf91790478.tip.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981327 | 171 | 1.640625 | 2 |
output expected to fall from US$4.67 billion to $4.59 billion
San Francisco, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/11/2012 -- The Taiwan Lighting Industry recently declared five new rules pertaining to the usage of smart lights. This was done in hope that the LED industry will become competitive internationally and also increase the minimum standards held within the market.
These five intelligent steps have been supported by various top lighting companies in Taiwan and also by two state run organizations. The government organizations that have endorsed these steps are namely the Institute for Information Industry and the Industrial Technology Research Institute.
Broadly, these steps cover certain rules regarding designing, specifications, networking and systematic functioning as well. This will hopefully lead to a certain degree of unity amongst all the light suppliers in Taiwan. This is the thought process behind the creation of these steps, according to focusTaiwan.tw.
Gary Tsai, who is a research associate in this project said: “Taiwanese companies should work hard on maintaining the quality of the lighting services provided because this will help the industry to thrive internationally.”
Not only are LED companies looking forward to creating a new line of products in compliance with the five steps, but the government could also use these to base its operations in the lighting industry.
The total output and its value in monetary terms are highly distorted within the industry, but the presence of these guidelines might lead to some integration. Tsai stated: “In terms of volume our lighting industry is comparable to the products produced by Japan and even South Korea. But problems become evident when the financial value of the final good is observed.”
This year, the industry output is expected to fall from US$4.67 billion to US$4.59 billion. On the other hand, South Korea’s total output in lighting has increased by 4.6% from last year. The same applied to Japan, where its total output rose by 12%. These five steps might mean success in the future for Taiwan as well.
EasilyGreen.com.au (http://www.easilygreen.com.au/leddownlightphilips.php) offers customers a solution for all their lighting problems. EasilyGreen can purchase lights that help to reduce their electricity costs by almost 80% and more with Industrial LED lighting, commercial LED lightning, and commercial LED services.
Copyright © 2005-2013 - SBWire, The Small Business Newswire - All Rights Reserved - Important Disclaimer
Contact Us: 888-4-SBWIRE (US) - 920-321-1250 (International) | <urn:uuid:7dc3285c-cf92-4208-9644-8930da18843b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/local-led-market-will-benefit-from-new-enforced-lighting-requirements-reports-easilygreencomau-163987.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946977 | 536 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Enter Stage Gabbing
web posted October 18, 1999
Why private armies exist
The Canadian Police Association recently issued a press release detailing their concern over "the encroachment of private security on areas of police responsibility."
These days there is a regrettable but understandable trend which sees people -- those who can afford it anyway -- cloister themselves inside gated communities and guarded by private security firms because they no longer trust police to do the job. According to Builder Online there are over 20 000 gated communities in the United States and demand is outstripping the ability of contractors to install expensive gates and security systems.
Canada isn't as "advanced" as its southern neighbour but gated communities and private security firms aren't unknown here as witnessed by the concern expressed by the CPA.
"The private security industry is growing rapidly and uniformed security guards seem to be everywhere," wailed the association in its October 6 release.
"If security personnel are acting like the police and looking like the police, then what they do and how they do it can and will impact both on the public and the police", stated Grant Obst, President of the CPA. "Private security is not the police. They are not trained to the same high standard public police services must maintain, they do not have the appropriate status and authority to enforce all aspects of the law, and they are not subject to the public accountability mechanisms the public expects and demands for the police."
Perhaps, but even in a semi-free market society like Canada, a perceived need is met by the marketplace. Despite what the association -- the same group which supports the federal government's odious Bill C-68, the gun registration legislation -- people increasingly are turning away from traditional law enforcement. I'm also trying to stifle any all too true jokes I could make about accountability and standards when it comes to police.
It is a regrettable trend because law enforcement is one of the few functions which government can legitimately provide to its citizens. In a free society, government is given the monopoly in the use of force which exists in the form of our military, police and courts. That power is used to protect our rights from external and internal coercion and play the role of an independent arbitrator to settle disputes.
Instead of protecting those rights, government -- and police -- often seem hell-bent on destroying as many of them as possible, sometimes for dark purposes, but generally so they can create that safer society we all dream of.
In communities across North America, rather than see police argue for less money to be spent wealth robbing programs like welfare, law enforcement officials are arguing for more money for the installation of surveillance cameras -- ones which will one day be linked together and tied to impressive computer systems...all the better to track us...for our own safety of course.
Instead of arguing against pork-barrelling programs, law enforcement agencies are taking money so that they can build themselves up into paramilitary forces -- complete with armoured personal carriers, assault weapons, helicopters -- all the better to tackle those quality of life crimes we are concerned about.
Many would also trust police if it wasn't for the rampant rights abuses regularly reported across this continent, whether innocent people shot during mistaken drug busts or just because of the general malice of a few cops. Everyone is perceived to be a threat by Officer Friendly at the end of the century and a lot of people are finding it pays to be more worried about the police car driving by slowly then it does the young toughs hanging out at the corner...especially if your skin is darker then mine.
Law enforcement has built itself into an impressive lobbying agency, but only for the results it gets when it bleats in unison about threats its worried about and not the ones we are. People want their police officers to catch the bad guys, not bust down the doors of civilians and shooting before asking questions. People want police officers to uphold their rights and not argue for surveillance systems to spy on them. Argue for tools which will actually stop the crime that we all feel in our neighbourhoods. Your military surplus equipment didn't stop my home from being robbed several years ago.
Until then, Officer Friendly will be replaced by Renta-Cop and a lot of people are happy to pay the bill.
Thanks for reading,
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
web posted October 11, 1999
On Wednesday, October 6, ESR was picked by The Liberator Online (published by Advocates for Self-Government) as one of their Editor's Choices.
It's great to receive recognition from a great outfit devoted to fighting for liberty!
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© 1996-2013, Enter Stage Right and/or its creators. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:51ea612a-9bc8-4ad0-af37-82fbc5a481bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://enterstageright.com/archive/articles/1099editorial.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96533 | 1,075 | 1.695313 | 2 |
We’ve written a lot on this blog about CDTA, including an examination this summer of the authority’s bus service and a compilation of the many reactions it spawned.
Higher gas prices caused increased ridership on the authority’s busses, as well as increased use of public transit around the country. But fiscal crisis loomed, and the CDTA board voted last month to raise the base fare from $1 to $1.50 — the first increase since 1995. “It’s not fun stuff, I know, but I think the balanced approach we are trying to put forth is probably the best we can do right now,” board Chairman David Stackrow, of Rensselaer County, told transportation reporter Cathy Woodruff at the time.
The authority also justified the increase as not out of line with other inflation:
For perspective, the CDTA staff drew up a list of comparative prices for other items in 1995 and 2008: gasoline, from $1.75 to $3.75 per gallon; milk, from $1.40 to $3.75 per gallon; and a slice of pizza, from 75 cents to $3.
With inflation, “one could argue that a $1.50 fare in 2009 is less expensive than $1 in 1995,” said CDTA Executive Director Ray Melleady.
But that’s precisely the problem, Albany resident Leah Golby argues today in an opinion submission.
That analogy falls short when we consider the purchasing power of low-wage earners — those who rely most on CDTA.
There’s no doubt Capital Region residents of all income brackets are taking a close look at their finances, and many are making plans to live more frugally by cutting vacation spending, socking away less in savings or using cars less frequently.
For those who don’t have the luxury of planning vacations, stashing savings or keeping a car on the road, that extra 50 cents for each bus ride is cash that adds up quickly.
Golby runs some quick numbers and determines that if you don’t have the cash to pay for a monthly swiper pass, the fare hike could mean an extra $10 a week in costs. Or two gallons of milk for the family.
Transit authorities walk a tight line with fare increases: they are sometimes needed to offset the costs of providing reliable, extensive service, but they may lead potential riders to turn elsewhere and decrease ridership. That in turn reduces revenues, and in a worst-case-downward-spiral can lead to even more fare hikes.
The effect of CDTA’s hike, which will take effect in April, remains to be seen. | <urn:uuid:04d2ce9e-446e-4a2c-b3fe-68945d657484> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.timesunion.com/gettingthere/date/2008/10/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952953 | 563 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Fisher, Pamela and Fisher, Roy (2009) Tomorrow we live: fascist visions of education in 1930s Britain. British journal of sociology of education, 30 (1). pp. 71-82. ISSN 0142-5692Metadata only available from this repository.
The present paper explores the fascist vision for education in 1930s Britain through the presentation of extracts from official publications of the British Union of Fascists (BUF), as well as from the writings of Party members. The paper presents a socio-historical study of British adherents to fascism and provides an account of their thinking in relation to education and schooling, exposing a milieu of ideologues, Party functionaries and serving teachers who were animated by their political commitment. Following a brief outline of the early years of British fascism, there is an account of some key members and their educational ideas, followed by a discussion of the BUF's educational policies and of its approach to internal education and training. The orientation of the BUF and its membership to education, and the Party's formulated policies in this field present a modernist vision that was calculated to have particular appeal to educational professionals. There is a consideration, through memoirs, of the experiences of two BUF members who were teachers. The paper reveals a relatively hidden episode in the social history of British educational politics; one that contained paradoxes of intent and outcome, and of means and ends, when ostensibly progressive and socially elevating concepts were employed in ways that had an ultimately destructive impact on individuals, both personally and professionally, as well as on whole societies.
|Subjects:||L Education > LA History of education|
D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D204 Modern History
D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
|Schools:||School of Education and Professional Development|
|Depositing User:||Cherry Edmunds|
|Date Deposited:||12 Feb 2009 14:58|
|Last Modified:||29 Jun 2009 08:37|
Item control for Repository Staff only: | <urn:uuid:8fd1864b-5351-4201-be42-81ed7c217f11> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/3348/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945485 | 425 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Tonight Matthew, I’m going to be Alan in Belfast, and write on a political event at a local arts festival.
It was an interview of crusading journalist John Pilger, by BBC NI’s William Crawley, which was meant to happen a few weeks ago but was delayed because he had a bout of pneumonia. St George’s Parish church was well filled, with a pretty enthusiastic audience. The acoustics weren’t fantastic, but I was near the front, so it wasn’t a problem for me.
Pilger has been writing and making documentaries for a long time (about 50 years), so he has a wealth of experiences from all over the world, and the evening reflected that. His view on Barack Obama was perhaps the most interesting of the evening. To paraphrase, he felt that
Barack Obama is a brand… American foreign policy, like British foreign policy, has continued in a straight line since 1945… Going by the first 250 days, Obama is continuing what Bush had done before…
I thought that was quite interesting. Also interesting, though I guess not surprising, were his views on Israel. He stated that because Israel is a special case in so many elements of international law (nuclear weapons, the continued occupation of Palestine), that resolving that one single issue is a precondition to the resolution of conflicts all over the world, because until justice is seen to be done there, there will be an excuse for it in other places. When challenged on how this could happen, he advocated boycotts, but acknowledged that the UN as it is now wouldn’t do that.
There was also a fascinating question from one member of the audience who asked “How can you, an Australian, sit here in Northern Ireland, and talk about ‘we the British people’”. I don’t think anyone was entirely sure whether he was being funny or provocative.
Pilger is scathing on the modern media, which he believes simply reports whatever is in the best interests of the news corporations and governments which own them. He believes that the kind of journalism that made his name just doesn’t happen in the mainstream media any more.
But he does have hope for the future. Not necessarily in the western governments (especially our MPs with their snouts in the trough), but he sees the people-led movements in South America as being a sign of progress.
It was an interesting evening. He is someone who is very well-informed about the world, and although some of his views are challenging, they can’t be dismissed. | <urn:uuid:0b18050a-a091-408c-99cd-333b7c0afe3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://munegi.com/?m=200905 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986028 | 536 | 1.515625 | 2 |
RAY BROOK-Members of Troop B of the New York State Police took time to remember the first Trooper to ever lose their life in the line of duty.
Troop B commander Maj. Rick Smith and Former Troopers Association President Russell Slingerland unveiled a memorial plaque in honor of Lt. James A Skiff during the annual Troop B Memorial Day ceremonies May 25, the 91st anniversary of the day Skiff lost his life.
"He was stationed in Ogdensburg in 1920 and was riding in the sidecar of a division motorcycle when he was killed in an accident," Maj. Smith said. "We usually have our Memorial Day ceremonies on the Wednesday before Memorial Day, so it just worked out that way that we were able to honor his sacrifice on the 91st anniversary of his death."
Skiff is listed as the first member of the NYSP to be killed in the line of duty and, until a year ago, was a man without a "Troop."
"I had a list of Troopers who had died in the line of duty in Troop B, and we had honored everyone on that list," Maj. Smith said. "After last year's services, one of the former Troopers came up to me and told me that he had found three more names on the Wall of Honor of officers who were killed while serving in Troop B."
According to the Wall of Honor website, "Trooper James A. Skiff died at the age of 39 of injuries sustained from an accident which occurred in the city of Ogdensburg on May 25, 1920. Trooper Skiff was a sidecar passenger on a motorcycle that collided with a trolley car.
"Trooper Skiff joined the Division of State Police serving as a First Sergeant at Camp Newayo and in Troop A. He served Troop K as a Lieutenant and later transferred to Troop B."
Skiff lived in New Rochelle. Prior to joining the State Police, he was an officer in the National Guard. | <urn:uuid:ac87ca6f-567a-4b8f-b3ce-1e42e6f17cb2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.denpubs.com/news/2011/jun/02/troop-b-of-state-police-honor-first-member-killed/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990856 | 415 | 1.632813 | 2 |
|I wonder if you can tell I was thinking about Christmas crafts whilst baking when this idea popped into my head?
This would also be good as a class or other children’s group craft activity. Each child could decorate their own cup cake case for the group wreath. Or as a teacher led decoration for the group – each child’s photo could be glued into a cup cake case to make the wreath.
You will need some cup cake, or patty cake papers for the main part of this craft. This one uses mini ones, but you could also do it with a mixture of sizes. The basis of the wreath is a circle of card – just cut from a packing box and painted white.
There are lot of ways you could decorate the cup cake papers for the wreath, this one uses a few different methods.
To decorate the cup cake papers, dip the edges into the white craft glue and then into the glitter and set aside to dry. Then I rolled chenille sticks into spirals and glued them in the cases. I drew stars on paper with glitter glue and glued them in the bottom of the cases and also glued some glitter pom poms in them as well.
Glue the patty papers onto the wreath. I started with the inside circle first, then the outside circle and then filled in the center. | <urn:uuid:77ed05d9-731d-42fa-9d83-7ffdefef713c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.papercraftsforchildren.com/2012/12/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965421 | 283 | 1.71875 | 2 |
The Edward A. Fox letters consists of 33 letters written by Union Sergeant Fox to his mother Hannah J. Fox during the period
August 1862-February 1863, and more than 50 letters and notes written to his fiancee (later wife) Jennie Greenleaf from the
late 1860s to the 1880s. Also included are assorted letters written from France at the beginning of the first World War and
correspondence with a male relative.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian.
Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained. | <urn:uuid:ca82364f-7283-43b2-82b2-a3e254b607bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt2n39s0dx/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966701 | 153 | 1.820313 | 2 |
All over Europe people are fleeing before the onslaught of Islam and Islamists.
They are fleeing their homes, their neighborhoods, their cities and their countries because they have become Islamic, dangerous and violent…because their culture and way of life is being overwhelmed, negated and replaced by Islamic hordes…because Islamists have forced or are trying to force Islam and its imperatives down their throats…because everything has changed for the worse and they can’t live normal lives anymore…because living where they are isn’t safe for them anymore.
Europe is not an Islamic continent quite yet, but it is more than well on the way to becoming one and is getting close. Islam being Islam and Islamists being Islamists Jews and Christians are particularly vulnerable and have suffered the most, but all of Europe is being rapidly Islamized and unbelievers lives are being changed and their cultures attacked and wiped out at the hands of Islamic hordes throughout the continent.
Some people speak out and fight back but those that do put their lives on the line. A large and growing number of people have decided to vote with their feet and leave instead. Who can blame them? If things keep on going the way they are it is as plain as day that Europe will soon become an Islamic continent…that Judeo-Christian values and culture will disappear… that they will have to live Islamic lives under Sharia, Islamic law, or suffer terrible terrible consequences.
Fight, flee or live under Islam and Islamists and be governed by Sharia, Islamic law. That’s the choice Europeans are faced with, that’s the choice unbelievers in Europe, especially Jews and Christians, have to make.
You might as well say unbelievers, particularly Jews and Christians, in every country in the West too, Australia, Canada, the United States, every one. All of them are under assault by Islam and Islamists and all of them are being Islamized to one degree or another, with much more to come unless the tide is turned. Europe is just the most extreme example of the Islamization of the West but it is a serious and growing problem everywhere and unbelievers, particularly Jews and Christians, have decisions to make wherever they live.
So what will you do?
Better hurry up and decide. | <urn:uuid:52f764bb-393e-4a88-911d-47994151d8a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mostlymiddleeastandamerica.com/?p=2095 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975168 | 456 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Archive for February, 2010
Users of firefox may already know that you can add all sorts of widgets to it that enable all kinds of useful extra features. We’ve just found a great tool that will make your life so much easier;
Add this to Firefox, and it allows you to put a sticky note right onto a webpage, that will be there when you revisit it. A great use for this is where you lookup a few different websites, and need to ring the companies behind them and get more information; Just use this extension to take notes during each phone call, then those notes are saved right on the webpage, so you can refer back to them quickly and easily.
Give it a try!
In order to ensure your privacy is protected, we strongly suggest you disable Google Buzz in your GMail account, and delete your Google Profile if you have one;
To disable Google Buzz;
- Log into Gmail
- Scroll right down to the bottom of the page
- Click Turn Off Buzz
To delete your Google Profile;
- Go to google.com/profiles/me
- Click the Edit profile link on your profile page.
- Click the Delete profile link at the bottom of the page.
- Select Yes, delete my profile.
UPDATE: Randy Abrams, Director of Technical Education over at ESET, is scathing of the way Google have rolled this out, and strongly suggests you disable both Buzz AND delete your google profile if you have one. We have instructions if you need them.
Today Google rolled out another service to add to its ever growing back of tricks, this one called Buzz. The folks over at Google are clearly running scared of companies like Twitter and Facebook, which to me is rather strange, as I don’t see either of them as a threat to Google.
Google Buzz integrates with Gmail (so as far as I know, if you aren’t a Gmail user, or don’t use it on the web, no buzz for you!), and shows up an option within the Gmail website interface.
Much like Facebook and Twitter, you can post status updates, and in the case of Google Buzz, by default those updates are fully public. You can choose to share the update with specific groups of people, but those people must be in your Gmail contacts, and you need to setup groups in that interface (much like you can already do in Facebook)
You can also share links and photos, the latter get uploaded to Picasa Web Albums. That all seems to be pretty standard, although it is very strange that Google didn’t include video sharing via Youtube as well.
But here’s the big risk factor; People know Twitter is fully public, and when they use it, they know what they say is out there for everyone to see. People also know that with Facebook, they can be more private, sharing only with their friends and family.
Google Buzz is anything but private; When you start using Buzz, it makes public the people you have emailed / chatted with the most. This alone could be highly embarrassing for people, who have always used their email as a private communications medium. You will also notice that things you do on other Google websites will suddenly start being shared on Google Buzz, and that too may be something you do not want.
My major concern here is that because Google have so many varied web properties and many people use a variety of them, now that they are tying them together and publishing publicly what you are up to on them, peoples privacy is likely to get seriously invaded until they take the time to go through and adjust a myriad of privacy options.
Add to this the story that some bloggers who were using a gmail account to interact anonymously with their audience have suddenly been outed by the new Buzz feature, and the problems with the sprawling mass of websites that Google has become is brought into focus.
If you have started using Buzz, you should definitely get over to the Google Profile that you will now have (that link will take you to yours if you have signed into Gmail) and go through the settings there; You can turn off some information such as your full name and your followers from being published publicly, and if you don’t put much information into it, Google don’t include it in search results.
I’ll be turning it off shortly, once I’ve had a good play with it; Twitter and Facebook are enough for me.
Every week we see computers that are infested with a variety of “malware”. This is a generic term we use to describe any software that is on your computer for nefarious reasons, and not in any way to help you. Most of the time, this software sneaks into your system, rather than being purposely installed.
Business owners should be especially worried; A single malware infection on your business computers can cost you thousands of dollars in lost revenue, and worse, can expose your private business files to hackers and others online. It’s vital that you do everything you can to avoid getting infected in the first place, so making sure all your staff have read this post is an excellent first step.
Anti Malware Software
You must ensure that your systems are fully protected by proactive anti malware software. This software needs to be installed on every workstation, and if you have staff that use their own personal computers at work, or for work, then you need to insist their machines are protected the same way. Any machine that is left unprotected can be the gateway for an infection that can take your entire network down.
We use and recommend ESET Anti Virus. This award winning software is very reliable, highly effective, and an easily affordable solution. We believe that no computer should be left without it. We believe using this product gives you the very best protection available.
Setup an account and use OpenDNS
DNS is the system that allows your computers to find a website when you type in the name, such as www.shiftsolutions.com.au; Because every website has to be looked up at least once, it’s possible to make a list of known dodgy websites and block them. By configuring your computer or network to do all it’s lookups using OpenDNS, you can have them simply refuse to let you go places they know are bad. This takes some configuration, and is not for the non techie, but our engineers can set it up quickly for you. If you want to give it a go, head over to www.opendns.com and check them out.
Use Firefox to browse the web
Many infections start when the attacker uses a known flaw in the software on your computer to sneak through and install onto your machine; Unfortunately, there are so many flaws being found in Internet Explorer all the time, that we think it is just safer to use something else. Mozilla Firefox has many features built in to help prevent infections by malicious websites, and we think everyone should be using it as their primary web browser. We install it on every machine we service.
Be more suspicious of emails
Many malware authors will spread their nasties by collecting email addresses off an already infected persons computer, and emailing all of them with a specially crafted email designed to look like something you would normally open. They include a link, or sometimes an infected attachment, which if you open, infects your system. Be very careful when you get emails that you didn’t specifically request. It wouldn’t hurt to either delete them immediately, or compose a new email back to the sender asking them to clarify what the email is about. You should always delete emails that appear to be jokes, videos or pictures from your friends, these are one of the more common ways malware spreads.
Continue that suspicion onto Facebook, MySpace etc
Now that you are suspicious, be extra dubious about “that hilarious video” your friend messages you about in Facebook. Lets face it, if they wanted to share a video, they’d upload it to Facebook, and it would appear in your news feed; If you get a mesage with a link, just delete it, and ring your friend, they are probably infected already, and will need our help to clean their system!
USB Drives can be dangerous
If you are running a business, the safest rule is to make sure nobody brings a USB drive from anywhere outside the business and plugs it into a work computer. Just don’t do it, it’s too easy for malware to infect USB drives and move onto every machine you use the drive on. If USB drives are a handy tool in your business, buy each employee a company USB, and have them only use that one within the office, never outside of it. The same theory works at home; Use your own USB drives at home, but make sure they never get plugged into random computers, and that your friends and family leave theirs at home when the visit.
Don’t download software online without looking into it first
Many users get infected when they download “video players”, or “smilie packs”, or even screen savers. While there is plenty of good software online, there is also plenty of rubbish, so it’s best not to start wandering the internet downloading things to “try them out”, because it will usually lead to disaster. If you are after software for your machine, try download.com, a reputable site that makes sure things it provides are not infected with malware.
Never install music and other downloading software
So called “peer to peer” or “p2p” software is one of the leading causes of malware infection; Nearly every machine we see infected has a program called Limewire installed. People install it to illegally download music, but it brings with it a whole host of malware when you install it, and once installed, it can allow more to get in. Plus, it tends to upset your internet service provider, so all in all, its best to avoid this type of thing.
Get your machine serviced at regular intervals
This is probably our best piece of advice; Getting your systems serviced at least once a year ensures that everything is humming along as it should, and the users of the machine haven’t started doing dangerous things that might lead to disaster later on. Business users should always have a maintenance plan, which takes the worry off the business owner, as it ensures an engineer is onsite regularly to checkup on the systems.
Sometimes you want a way to know that someone has read your email. Outlook provides this via a feature called “Read Receipts”. You simply tell Outlook to request one for the email you are writing, and the person at the other end can choose to let you know. If you don’t get a receipt back, that doesn’t mean they didn’t read it of course, because many users refuse to send read receipts.
If you would like to request a read receipt for just the email you are working on now, this is how you do it;
- In the message, on the Options tab, in the Tracking group, select the Request a Delivery Receipt or the Request a Read Receipt check box.
Outlook 2003 and 2002
- In the message, click Options.
- Under Voting and tracking options, select the Request a delivery receipt for this message or the Request a read receipt for this message check box. Or select both check boxes.
If you would like every email you send to automatically request a read receipt;
- On the Tools menu, click Options.
- Click E-mail Options, and then click Tracking Options.
- Select the Read receipt or the Delivery receipt check box. Or select both check boxes.
Here’s a video from Microsoft on the topic;
With email becoming the standard way business users communicate with suppliers, customers and staff, it’s worth taking a minute to take stock of how you use your email, and see what you can do to to make it more efficient, and less of a time sink;
Don’t forget to the subject
Too often we see emails sent in with no subject at all. Imagine if you received five emails, and one had no subject line, but the other four all pointed you to some pressing need by the sender for your action. Chances are you are going to ignore the email with no subject. Make sure you summarise your emails content in the subject line so the recipient can take action quickly.
Don’t start a new email by replying
Following on from the last point, we see many emails that are sent by replying to a previous email. The problem here is the subject never gets changed, and so the recipient sees an email that looks like it’s about something they’ve already dealt with, but in reality is a new issue. Often these types of emails get lower priority, so make sure you click NEW MAIL and start from scratch.
Make sure you include context in replies
When you are replying to an email, you would normally click the reply button, and your email client should include the contents of the original email at the bottom of your reply. This helps ensure the party at the other end can keep up with the conversation flow; Remember, they could be sending hundreds of emails, and getting a one line email back that just says “Yes, lets do it!”, may leave them wondering what they proposed.
It’s also a good idea to be clear in your own reply, so rather than just agreeing, include what you are agreeing to in the text you write back.
Make it clear what you want done
Where you want the recipient of your email to take action, make sure you spell it out in the email, don’t leave them guessing. At the end of your email, make a dot point list of the actions you need taken so the recipient knows exactly what you expect, and can take action accordingly.
Be Careful with “Reply All”
Often these days people will send the same email to several people; Be careful when replying, as your email software will have a “reply all” button that will send your return thoughts to EVERYONE who the original email was sent to. This can be embarrassing if part of your reply includes “I can’t believe you are including Mr X in this, he’s hopeless!”
Always Describe Attachments
When sending an attachment to a recipient, a file or document, always include a brief description within the body of the email of the attachment. Don’t “force” the recipient to download and review a document if he or she does not need to.
Pickup the phone
Too often things drag out via email that could be resolved with a short phone call; If a range of questions and answers need to be exchanged, it is often better to do that via phone, and then summarise the conversation via an email afterward so you have on record what was discussed or agreed to.
No Reply Necessary
This is a great tip and one that we will try and internalise at Shift Solutions; Where you are just emailing to ensure people are kept up to date, and you don’t even need to hear back from them, save them the hassle of replying at all by included the phrase “No Reply Necessary” at the bottom of your email.
Include Your Full Signature
Make it standard practice to include your full “signature” at the end of all emails. This includes your name, company name, phone number, etc. Make it easy for the recipient to get back in touch with you in the easiest way possible for them. Sometimes putting your phone number in the subject line is great when you need a quick reply to something important. | <urn:uuid:4d71e175-2a94-4120-8d4e-1cd960b49086> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shiftsolutions.com.au/2010/02/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954442 | 3,293 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The National Aquarium truly values every volunteer who lends us his/her time, and some volunteers go far above and beyond what we could ever ask of them. In fact, we begin to wonder, how would we get by without them?!
Chuck Erbe is one such volunteer. Chuck was no stranger to animal rescues when he first came to our Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP) several years ago; he volunteered in Delaware with the Marine Education, Research, and Rehabilitation Institute and actually assisted MARP with rescues and releases even before he came to be part of our program. He was drawn to the compassion of the MARP staff and the contributions they made to the stranding network, and when he pursued the opportunity to become involved in MARP we knew he would be a perfect fit!
Chuck’s contagious passion for healthy oceans has helped make dozens of MARP outreach events successful, and he has the rare ability to get through to people and really make an impact. He mentions “participating in the educational outreach workshops and seeing the enthusiasm of the young children as we talk to them” as a source of inspiration to continue his volunteer work. Chuck is generous with more than just his time, and he is always donating to our cause – take, for instance, the larger-than-life sea turtle model that he decided our MARP outreach display simply could not do without!
When its rescue time and marine animal lives are on the line, Chuck never hesitates to lend a helping hand – when a stranded animal needs to be transported to the Aquarium, he finds a way to be there. And you can bet he is there when all the hard work comes together for a successful release! When asked about a favorite MARP moment, Chuck replied, “Each time we are able to rehabilitate and release an animal, it brings joy to my heart.” Naturally, he was unable to really nail down a favorite animal experience, but he was proud to have been an integral part of the rescues of both of the MARP animals released in 2009, a seal named Hamilton, and Flight and Release, a loggerhead sea turtle.
The Aquarium Conservation Team (ACT!) works closely with MARP, so it was only a matter of time before ACT! realized that they too could benefit from Chuck’s passion for the environment. ACT! recruited him as a boat captain, and there are numerous restoration planting projects that could not have been completed without Captain Chuck cheerfully running people and supplies to some of our island sites.
We asked Chuck why he keeps coming back for more – “Easy answer,” he replied, “The really great people I get to meet and associate with. They are just fantastic, caring, compassionate individuals both from MARP and ACT! I am thrilled to be able to work along side them…There is nothing I’d rather be doing than volunteering with others to help our environment.” Clearly, he does not realize that we are the ones lucky to have him.
Chuck is truly an inspiration, so as a closing we asked him to provide a bit of advice to help encourage folks who might be considering volunteering in the future:
Do you want to feel great about yourself? Do you want to help make a difference? Do you want to spend time around great people? Do you want to challenge our younger people to participate in conservation? If you do, then please become a volunteer. It is something that you will be glad you did, and our animals and the environment will benefit from your experiences. | <urn:uuid:a9c1c577-e8b6-47ff-baff-884c890d206e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nationalaquarium.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/volunteer-spotlight-chuck-erbe/?like=1&_wpnonce=eb2f2292e0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974362 | 728 | 1.625 | 2 |
Credit By Examination
Students may earn a maximum total of 36 semester hours credit through the following examinations. The college does not grant duplicate credit for subject areas covered by multiple examinations (e.g. AP credit for English and CLEP credit for English).
Advanced Placement (AP) Credit
Crossroads College participates in the Advanced Placement Program administered by the College Entrance Examination Board. Under this program, high school seniors take an advanced course in high school, followed by an exam that may qualify them for college credit. Students who enroll at Crossroads typically receive 3-6 semester hours of credit for each AP test completed with a score of 3 or higher. The most common test areas are Biology, English, Music Theory, and Psychology. Students interested in securing possible AP credit should consult with their high school guidance counselors.
International Baccalaureate (IB) Credit
The International Baccalaureate program is a comprehensive, rigorous two-year curriculum requiring written and oral examinations and formal essays in subjects at the college level. Students who enroll at Crossroads may receive academic credit in subject areas in which they earn a score of 5 or higher on IB examinations.
College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)
Students may also earn college credit through the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP). The CLEP General Examinations measure college-level knowledge in six basic areas of the liberal arts, while the subject examinations measure knowledge in specific content areas. Students who enroll at Crossroads typically receive up to 3-6 semester hours of credit for each CLEP examination completed with a score of 50 or higher. For more information, see the Registrar.CONTENT GOES HERE | <urn:uuid:f501db40-c03a-435c-8bf8-39c73ae326f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.crossroadscollege.edu/Admissions/TransferStudents/CreditByExamination.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939454 | 340 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Rally for Palestinian UN Statehood BidFriday 30 November 2012
Dr. Nava Sonnenschein, director of the School for Peace, together with Maram Hijazi and others from the community, initiated a rally in favor of the Palestinian statehood bid at the Unitied Nations. The initiative was co-organized with NGOs including the Forum of Peace Organizations; Psychoactive; Gush Shalom; One Voice; Meretz Party activists; Hadash Party activists; Peace Now; Machsom Watch; Combatants for Peace; Ir Amim; Friends of the Earth and Rabtat al-Bayan al-Arab.
Speaking at the rally, Dr. Nava Sonnenschein said "We have come here to support you, Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) and the Palestinian people. You have chosen a non-violent struggle and we respect that, while the government talks with those who fire rockets. The Palestinians cannot wait any longer, let’s work together to change reality." Other speakers stressed the importance and symbolism of the day and stressed that the UN decision, as well as the need for a determined resolution of the conflict, are in the interest of both peoples.
The rally, whose size was estmated at several hundred activists, was attended by a large number of members and children from Wahat al-Salam Neve Shalom.
Nava’s full speech [in Hebrew] and other speeches may be heard on the site of Israel’s Channel 2 TV here.
Annual General Meeting of Friends AssociationsTuesday 14 May 2013
This year’s annual general meeting, to which representatives are invited from support groups around the world, got off to a great start with an evening reception at the swimming pool. At the (...)
Mother’s Day EventThursday 21 March 2013
An evening in honour of Mother’s Day was organized on March 21 by WASNS member Mai Shbeta. The evening featured music, a reading of the monologue “Flowers are not enough” by (WASNS member and (...)
Celebration of International Women’s DayFriday 8 March 2013
WAS-NS member Samah Salaime arranged a gathering to celebrate International Women’s Day.
Ahmad Hijazi and his son AdamWednesday 22 August 2012
On Monday August 20, Ahmad Hijazi and his 9 year old son Adam were killed in a car accident while they were on holiday in Zanzibar.
Hate messages and slashed tiresFriday 8 June 2012 :: News
In an apparent protest against the decision to evacuate an Israeli "outpost" settlement, thugs crept into the village during the night, slashing tires of many cars, and spray painting right-wing (...)
0 | 5 | <urn:uuid:bb1fc418-dfb8-47f3-988c-b59b04822c74> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nswas.org/spip.php?article1046 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955982 | 577 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Picture this, it's a beautiful October afternoon, fish are rising steadily to blue wing olives, and you have just been broken off by a big brown. You quickly rebuild tippet and tie on a new size 18 sparkle dun. You dig around in your vest for your floatant and finally find it. You try to get some out, but because it is chilly, your "goop" has set up to the consistency of grape jelly. You give the bottle a squeeze and nothing comes out. You give it a few shakes and still nothing comes out. You bang it against your palm about fifty times and finally you get some goop to the nipple.
You know the story. That's why we designed the Cliff Hanger™. We needed an efficient way to hang a floatant bottle upside down so gravity always keeps your floatant available with just a squeeze. We've been asked why we continue to make them out of leather when synthetic materials would be cheaper. The answer is simple. We're from Wyoming, and experience has taught that things built to last (like good boots and saddles), ain't made of plastic. | <urn:uuid:8da74480-0094-4cec-a221-8ba3bd862cc5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cliffoutdoors.com/index.php?page=the-cliffhanger | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96861 | 231 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The book of Revelation—you might find it fascinating, you might find it incomprehensible, but either way you probably don't think it has much to say about everyday Christian life. A beast with seven heads, locusts with human faces, Death on a pale horse—what could any of this possibly have to do with whether or not you gossip about your colleagues or cheat on your taxes?
Everything, according to Father Richard Veras. The symbolic language of Revelation underscores such foundational truths as God's inescapable presence—"there is no time, place or situation in which he is not"—to the fact that "the army of the beast is not made up of aliens; it is made up of hardened human hearts."
Father Veras's lively exploration of this apocalyptic book will help you understand the ongoing spiritual battle for humanity and the choices you need to make now in order to stand victorious with Jesus at the end of time.
Fr. Richard Veras is the pastor of St. Rita Catholic Church in Staten Island, New York and the author of Jesus of Israel: Finding Christ in the Old Testament. He is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, an active member of the Catholic lay movement Communion and Liberation, and a frequent contributor to Magnificat magazine. | <urn:uuid:a710c276-2f79-434a-ba08-3b9e2093181f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tiberriver.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/home.viewitem/sku/22515 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943134 | 259 | 1.539063 | 2 |
A landscape architect stops mowing and irrigating her yard and gets a call from the city.
Margie Ruddick, a designer known for her elegant ecological landscapes, got a summons from the City of Philadelphia last year, citing her East Mount Airy yard as being in violation of the property maintenance code.
“For weeds over 10 inches,” said Ruddick, 54, standing beside her favorite pokeweed a few weeks ago. By August, it will be laden with purple berries, poisonous to humans but a favorite of the birds.
About a year after she stopped mowing the lawn here in 2005, black cherry seedlings showed up in the tall grasses and wild asters. In the next few years, oaks, mulberry and rose of sharon moved in.
“There wasn’t a lot of order or maintenance, and it did look a little unkempt,” said her neighbor John Siemiarowski, who lives across the street. But “the worst of it now is that we can’t see the Komodo dragon anymore.”
That life-size wooden sculpture, which Ruddick brought back from Bali, is now hidden behind a coppiced grove of black cherry trees. And nearby, rising from a thicket of raspberries that Siemiarowski likes to graze on, is a National Wildlife Federation sign reading “certified wildlife habitat.”
Two years into Ruddick’s experiment, when this sea of seedling trees had no shape, she said: “People were freaked out that it looked abandoned. I had a sign that said ‘This house is not for sale,’ because people would come to the window and look in.”
A friend from the Deep South told her: “Margie, you’ve gone country. All you need is an old refrigerator and couch with the springs poking out setting there on your porch.”
Ruddick, who has a degree in landscape architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, had her own practice for 16 years, first with Judith Heintz in Manhattan, then on her own in Philadelphia, where her small team designed both private and public landscapes sensitive to the sites. She likes to collaborate, as she did in 1996 when she worked with the environmental artist Betsy Damon and Chinese designers to create the Living Water park in Chengdu, China, which cleanses polluted water with a series of ponds and constructed wetlands.
In 2004, she and her team became part of WRT, a Philadelphia design firm that bases its work on sustainable principles. As a partner, she collaborated with Marpillero Pollak Architects and the environmental artist Michael Singer to bring nature to Queens Plaza with permeable paving and rain gardens that absorb storm water pouring off the Queensboro Bridge, and curving forests of hornbeam trees, shadblow and redbud that echo the arc of the elevated train line.
“I’m one of the finalists this year for the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award,” she said, showing off the chicken coop near the compost pile. “Which makes this kind of hilarious.” (She received the AudubonWomen in Conservation’s Rachel Carson Award in 2006 and the Lewis Mumford Award from Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility in 2002, among others.)
What she’s doing here is a backyard version of those great urban parks going green.
No matter. In March, she stood before a hearings officer in the city Department of Licenses and Inspections, arguing like any other beleaguered citizen that she didn’t deserve a $75 fine.
“I was armed with photographs,” she said. “I told the judge: ‘This is actually not a weed. It’s Prunus serotina, a black cherry seedling. This is not a weed. It’s an oak tree, Quercus alba. The 10-inch weeds are rhubarb.’ ”
The judge stared at the photographs. They looked like weeds, but they had botanical names. This tall woman (she is 5-foot-11 in her bare feet) looked perfectly sane in her clean, pressed trousers and tailored blouse. The fine was canceled, and Ms. Ruddick went home and began searching for a gardener who could bring enough order to her yard-gone-wild to forestall another summons and to allay neighbors’ fears about declining property values.
“You have to allow a certain amount of mess to create a habitat,” she said. But “it also pushes a boundary that’s very uncomfortable: the sloppiness and the ugliness, the awkward moments when things are cut” before “it starts to get its own shape.”
Across the street, Siemiarowski’s wife, Elayne Bender, was intrigued.
“I wondered what she was doing, but given who she is, I trusted that it would turn out to be something I’d want to look at,” Bender said.
To continue reading this story, click here. | <urn:uuid:4ea2057c-f253-4f3d-ab88-e22b36d1fd3a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lawnandlandscape.com/bionutrition-ll-0810-Going-green-or-growin-wild.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962353 | 1,087 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Foucault — A nice new cover design from David Drummond (approval pending).
(And apparently I like photos of the backs of people’s heads)
Kill Your Darlings — Print asks book designers Carol Devine Carson, John Gall, Paul Buckley, Rodrigo Corral, John Gray, Gabriele Wilson, Paul Sahre, and Peter Mendelsund about the covers that didn’t quite make it:
every book jacket designer has at least one that got away—a fresh, inventive cover that was shot down en route to the bookstore shelf. These “lost” covers form a parallel universe in which the books we read and love exist in entirely different skins.
Re-typing History — The Financial Times reports on typographer Mike Parker’s challenge to the accepted history of the ubiquitous Times New Roman:
The… evidence for his version of history is a brass pattern plate bearing a large capital letter B. He holds the plate up to show the familiar form of the letter, its characteristic curves and serifs. The point, he says, is that such pattern plates represent a technology that was not used after 1915. The creation of Times New Roman was announced in 1932.
Bite-Size Edits — Baking books with the Book Oven chefs.
Forgotten Bookmarks — the “personal, funny, heartbreaking and weird things” found in books at a rare and used bookstore.
Trial and Error — Author Matthew Pearl discusses the evolution of the cover for his novel The Dante Club. It’s nice to read about an author not having a hideous experience with a publisher for a change, and I actually think that the cover design for The Dante Club, while not flashy, gives a lot of great visual cues to readers about the nature of the book (which is really what it is about isn’t it?). | <urn:uuid:080a2eb4-7fcd-433e-ac77-2d86d4861b4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.casualoptimist.com/blog/2009/08/05/midweek-miscellany-august-5th-2009/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93452 | 388 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The boots and vehicles of an invading army of seasonal workers could threaten Northland's $36 million kiwifruit industry.
The region has been in lock-down for several months to try to keep out the kiwifruit vine disease PSA, which last year caused losses in other parts of the country estimated at up to 15 million trays.
Northland is now the only major kiwifruit growing area free of the disease.
The north's kiwifruit growers have united to voluntarily impose stringent hygiene regimes and movement controls to keep the region free of the disease, but say risk is ramping up with hundreds of orchard workers due to arrive soon for the start of the picking season - many of them fresh from affected areas like Gisborne.
Robbie Bell, chairman of the Northland committee of Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH), says incoming workers and contractors will be heavily targeted with messages on disinfecting footwear, hands and machinery.
Brad Siefert, KVH biosecurity manager, said the industry nationally was in close touch with places like backpacker hostels and had prepared waterproof hygiene packs geared for overseas visitors. "A lot of the orchard workers don't speak English so we have kept the data as visual as possible," he said.
"The main thing is to make sure the lines of communication are very clear and open and that nobody is caught short without the necessary information."
Northland's KVH committee had bought and destroyed a large amount of "imported" root stock from garden centres and plant nurseries, which had been extremely co-operative, he said.
The industry planned to ask the Government to bring in special biosecurity measures, meaning its defensive measures would have legal backing.
A gap in defences might be the kiwifruit brought into the region by the supermarkets. Northland Regional Authority biosecurity manager Don McKenzie said the potential for infection was there but should be relatively low, as the fruit was washed and refrigerated.
Brad Siefert said the biggest risk was the transfer of plant material from affected areas to orchards. | <urn:uuid:2a5ef1b1-2a13-457d-a43f-0d6509c548b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz/news/northland-kiwifruit-threatened/1350278/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973899 | 439 | 1.75 | 2 |
James Brown, 'Godfather of Soul,' dies at age 73
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The Philadelphia Inquirer
James Brown, the dynamic performer and incomparable bandleader who changed the shape of popular music in America and the world, and was known as the "Godfather of Soul" and "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business," died yesterday.
Mr. Brown, 73, was admitted to Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta on Saturday with pneumonia, and he died Christmas morning of congestive heart failure, according to his agent Frank Copsidas.
Among the iconic figures of 20th-century popular music, from Louis Armstong to Bob Dylan, Mr. Brown was a true titan. As the inventor of funk and progenitor of rap, the self-proclaimed "Mr. Dynamite" is far and away the most important figure in shifting modern pop music's emphasis from melody to rhythm.
The electrifying singer and songwriter's scores of hits include "Please, Please, Please," "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag," "I Got You (I Feel Good)," "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine," "Say It Loud -- I'm Black and I'm Proud," and "Living In America."
Full of guttural grunts and shrieks and precise polyrhythms, Mr. Brown remade rhythm and blues in his own rugged, intensely physical image. Along the way, he changed the way pop music sounded, and also what it looked like, which in his case was a sharply dressed, solidly-built, pompadoured black man sweating up a storm on stage as he executed a series of daunting spins and splits.
The funk breaks in Mr. Brown's songs like "Get Up Offa That Thing" and "Funky Drummer" formed the foundation of hip-hop, and Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson and Prince all copped his stage moves. His influence is incalculable.
One of the first performers to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry, Mr. Brown won a lifetime achievement Grammy award in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and in 1987 for "Living in America." Last year, Mr. Brown published his autobiography, "I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul."
Born James Joseph Brown in Barnwell, S.C., in the midst of the Depression, he moved to Augusta, Ga., as a youth and got into frequent trouble with the law, eventually winding up in reform school for armed robbery. Inside, he met Bobby Byrd, who would become a longtime Brown sideman, along with such other illustrious employees as bassist Bootsy Collins and saxophonist Maceo Parker.
Mr. Byrd's family helped Mr. Brown secure a release after he served three years. After trying his hand as a boxer and baseball player, Mr. Brown devoted himself to music full-time, joining Mr. Byrd's group, the Gospel Starlighters, who soon evolved into James Brown & the Famous Flames. Recording for Cincinnati's King Records, the group scored its first hit with "Please, Please, Please" in 1956.
Tirelessly working the "chitlin' circuit" of roadhouses and dance halls in the segregated South, Mr. Brown sharpened his band and toughened up his muscular sound, which was then heavily influenced by his idol, Little Richard. He acquired a reputation as a fastidious bandleader and unforgiving disciplinarian, and often fined musicians for missed notes.
His declamatory vocal style, more spoken than sung, prefigured rap and was developed further in early hits like "Try Me" in 1959 and "Out of Sight" in 1964. Mr. Brown's music grew more aggressive as the '60s progressed and he asserted more artistic control over his productions and incorporated more complex rhythms.
A steady stream of R&B hits won him an enthusiastic black audience, who recognized the ecstatic screams of Southern gospel music in Brown songs such as "Think" and "Night Train" -- heard on his great 1962 album "Live at the Apollo." And he first broke though to the white mainstream in 1965, with the electric "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag."
Mr. Brown's music was always uncompromising, and he became a voice of empowerment and pride within the African-American community as well.
He was never a protest singer, but always an advocate of education and increasing black economic clout. He purchased a string of radio stations in the mid-1960s, and in 1966 approached Vice President Hubert Humphrey to propose using his "Don't Be a Dropout" hit as the centerpiece of a stay-in-school campaign for urban youth.
Encouraged by activist H. Rap Brown to become more prominent in the black power movement, the next year he released "Say It Loud -- I'm Black and I'm Proud," a watershed moment in America's racial conversation. And his trademark holiday song didn't bother with maudlin sentiment, and instead focused on the needs of the urban poor. Its title: "Santa Claus, Go Straight To the Ghetto."
James Brown's encounters with the law were not limited to his youth. In 1988, high on PCP and carrying a shotgun, he was arrested after a car chase in Georgia and South Carolina that ended when police shot out the tires of his vehicle. He spent more than two years in prison in South Carolina on charges of aggravated assault, and failing to stop for a police officer.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Mr. Brown was repeatedly arrested on charges of drug possession and beating his third wife, Adrienne. She died in 1996, following plastic surgery, and after taking PCP and prescription drugs. In 2002, Mr. Brown married his backup singer Tomi Rae Hynie. The couple has a son, James II. Mr. Brown is survived by at least four children.
Working with his band the JBs in the 1970s, Mr. Brown developed harder and more expansive music, stretching out in jazzy, polyrhythmic directions, and making its influence felt on such far-flung artists as Nigeria's Fela Kuti. Albums like the 1973 double-LP "The Payback" showcased the efforts of sidemen like Mr. Parker and Fred Wesley.
Even as his career declined, the advent of hip-hop assured his relevance. DJs like Afrika Bambaataa made Mr. Brown's beat the foundation of the new sound, and rap pioneer Kurtis Blow called the drum break on Mr. Brown's "Give It Up or Turn It Loose" the "national anthem of hip-hop."
Though Mr. Brown had become an oldies act by the 1980s, appearing in movies such as "The Blues Brothers" and "Rocky IV," he wasn't done yet and scored a hit in the mid-'80s with the epic "Living in America."
Though more than 70 years old, Mr. Brown still toured regularly, appearing robust on stage and still capable of doing spins, if not splits.
On Friday, he appeared at his annual toy giveaway in Atlanta, and was scheduled to perform at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City on New Year's Eve.
"I've been able to do it for over 40 years, and I'm still doing it," Mr. Brown told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2001. "Like Bob Hope or Frank Sinatra, James Brown is one of the things you don't want to see stop."Kevork Djansezian, Associated Press
The Hollywood Walk of Fame star for pop music legend James Brown is covered with candles and flowers placed by fans of the "Godfather of Soul," in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles yesterday.Scott Applewhite, Associated Press
In a file photo singer James Brown, left, walks with his then-agent Rev. Al Sharpton from the White House in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 15, 1982. They met with President Reagan to advocate making Martin Luther King's birthday a national holiday. .
Click photo for larger image.
First Published December 26, 2006 12:00 am | <urn:uuid:5fed0a51-6bc8-4078-b977-1c9144dc2988> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/uncategorized/james-brown-godfather-of-soul-dies-at-age-73-465154/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974502 | 1,708 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Obama Poised to Dine with Architects of Burma's Ethnic Cleansing
The U.S. government has decided to lift the economic and diplomatic pressure that made reform in Burma possible.
Cross-posted from the United to End Genocide blog.
Why is President Obama about to meet with leaders in Burma who are systematically fomenting hatred and violence that has already claimed innocent lives, destroyed entire villages and displaced tens of thousands?
In just a few days, President Obama will travel to Burma to recognize progress that one of the most brutal regimes on the planet has made toward democracy. Now that modest improvements have been made or pledged by the regime, and Aung San Suu Kyi is free, the U.S. government has decided to lift the economic and diplomatic pressure that made reform in Burma possible.
That is bad news if you are part of an ethnic minority in Burma. And it is life threatening if you are a member of the Rohingya Muslim minority.
Systematic hate speech and entreaties for the local population to isolate and attack the Rohingya Muslim minority are pervasive in western Burma. The Burmese military stand aside or actively participate in attacks against innocent men, women and children. More than one hundred people have already lost their lives, tens of thousands have lost their homes, and over one hundred thousand have been displaced.
What is the U.S. government doing about it? On Sunday, President Obama will become the first President to visit Burma. He is there to recognize and congratulate the military-dominated government for making modest reforms toward democracy. As hundreds of thousands of Rohingya continue to live in fear, President Obama will be congratulating a government that wants to ethnically cleanse every one of them from Burma.
Burma’s President Thein Sein--who Obama will be sitting down to dine with--has been actively fomenting hatred against the Rohingya community. He has gone so far to ask the United Nations to help him ethnically cleanse Burma by forcing 800,000 Rohingya people out of their home villages and into refugee camps or out of the country altogether!
I saw what violence and persecution looks like first-hand in Burma when I snuck into Kachin State last May. I saw entire villages abandoned, its population driven into makeshift camps filled with desperate people without adequate food, shelter of medical care. I spoke with families whose loved ones had been tortured, raped, incarcerated or killed by Burmese troops. Without international pressure on the regime, I know what the Rohingya are experiencing will only continue to get worse.
An entire people are under attack not because of what they have done but because of who they are. Instead of traveling to Burma, President Obama should be leading the call for a United Nations observer mission to investigate the violence in Rakhine State, deter the escalation of the violence and hold the perpetrators accountable. The leading role that the Obama administration played in scaling back sanctions on Burma obligates the U.S. government to act urgently to hold the Burmese government to its responsibilities to protect its ethnic populations.
We’ve seen these warning signs before. The hateful rhetoric of Rakhine monks is reminiscent of the hateful propaganda directed at the Tutsi population and their sympathizers leading up to, and during the Rwandan genocide. While renewing calls for their expulsion from Burma, several Rakhine monks have urged the local population to sever all relations with the Rohingya, including trade and the provision of humanitarian aid and have called on Rakhines to expose Rohingya sympathizers as national traitors, potentially exposing them to violent attacks.
There is no word to describe the response from the United States and the international community other than inadequate. The conditions that led to two major outbreaks of mass killings in the last few months are worsening daily. Greater loss of life and displacement are a certainty without a change of course.
In a day and age in which technology affords us the ability to connect with people across the world, we can no longer claim ignorance to the fact that the Rohingya people are being slaughtered, displaced, and terrorized. When we look back on the books of history, will this be another example of when we failed to show up or showed up too late?
Tom Andrews is the President of United to End Genocide. | <urn:uuid:8b32bad4-fb42-4e22-a1da-d4c1455a614a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fpif.org/blog/obama_poised_to_dine_with_architects_of_burmas_ethnic_cleansing?q=Tag%3AKhartoum+Sudan+Africa | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958917 | 872 | 1.75 | 2 |
In the last few years, there has been an ever increasing demand for organic products, particularly for organic baby products. Parents obvously want the best for their babies and organic baby stores in Claiborne stock everything they require to keep their little ones healthy and happy.
Claiborne organic baby stores sell products that aren't created using toxins and chemicals. So the most significant benefit of organic baby products is that they're healthier and have a reduced risk of producing side effects like allergic reactions.
Eco-conscious parents also enjoy the fact that organic baby products are also better for the environment. Cotton utilized to create materials for organic baby clothes, for example, are not treated with incesticides and chemicals that affect far more than the cotton crop.
Products in Claiborne Organic Baby Stores
As a greater number of parents realize the importance of going organic, many more organic baby products are being made available in stores across the United States. Today, parents can purchase an organic option for virtually anything.
In-demand organic baby products are:
- Baby clothes
- Baby food
- Bath products
- Lotions and Creams
Makers can only label their baby products organic if they have been granted organic certification. One thing to keep in mind is that unlike organic products, 'all natural' products aren't regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Parents that are considering an 'all natural' product ought to carefully examine the ingredients and/or label to determine whether an organic option is the right choice.
Well Known Organic Baby Stores in Claiborne
Burt's Bees is a well known line of personal organic products, including organic baby products. Their products can be found in major stores across the U.S. such as Target.
Baby Earth is an online organic baby store that sells all natural and organic baby products from numerous companies.
Whole Foods Market has been a leading provider of organic products since 1980, and there isn't a shortage of organic baby products in their stores.
The Organic Consumers Association and the Organic Information Center are also popular resources for researching different organic products and services, including organic baby stores.
Investing in organic products, especially food and hygiene products, when children are in the initial stages of development is an investment worth making. As organic baby products increase in popularity parents can expect to find more local and online organic baby stores in Claiborne to shop at and more economical prices as well. | <urn:uuid:595de535-b9e7-42d2-a591-e171840c0a88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.organicaginfo.org/louisiana/organic-baby-stores-claiborne | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951345 | 493 | 1.578125 | 2 |
"It is unacceptable that thousands of Texas women may be cut off from access to the program due to the program's inability to meet demand," said Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, the House Democratic Caucus chairwoman, in a prepared statement. "My main concern is to ensure that women may be given the opportunity to affordable and accessible health care."
Using the Texas Public Information Act, Farrar requested that the agency release a list of the available providers enrolled in the Texas Women's Health Program along with the number of patients they anticipate serving, the number of patients served by the former Medicaid Women's Health Program and the geographical areas in the state where provider enrollment does not meet demand.
The Texas Women's Health Program launched Jan. 1 to replace the Medicaid WHP, a joint federal-state program that lost its $9-to-$1 federal match in funding when the state implemented a rule to ban providers affiliated with abortion clinics -- namely, 51 Planned Parenthood clinics.
Studies conducted before the state implemented the so-called Affiliate Ban Rule found tens of thousands of women may have trouble accessing health services if Planned Parenthood clinics were excluded from the Medicaid Women's Health Program, as Planned Parenthood performed more than 40 percent of the services for women enrolled in the former Medicaid WHP. Planned Parenthood has used those studies to argue in court -- sometimes successfully, and other times not -- that women would lose access to health care if Planned Parenthood were excluded from the program.
According to the HHSC, the Texas WHP has 3,500 participating providers, which is 1,000 more than the number that participated in the Medicaid WHP. A survey of those providers conducted by the state found that only one area, San Angelo, would not have adequate capacity to serve women in the Texas WHP without Planned Parenthood.
But Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, and multiple news outlets have questioned the accuracy of the state's information, particularly the list of Texas WHP providers that was posted on a state website to help women in the program find alternative providers to Planned Parenthood.
Burnam's office called 104 providers listed as participating in the Texas WHP in the Fort Worth area and found only 11 that accept Texas WHP patients, three of which only provide limited services.
The HHSC removed the list of Texas WHP providers from the state's website on Tuesday. Linda Edwards Gockel, a spokeswoman for the agency, told The Dallas Morning News on Wednesday that an updated list will be put up in about a week.
"We are confident in the capacity information we've gathered from providers in the program and are using that to improve the list," said Gockel in an email to the Tribune.
Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here. | <urn:uuid:cd1dcc36-d41a-4c9c-9914-04603a044e96> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bigcountryhomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=563662 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953017 | 593 | 1.8125 | 2 |
There are many misconceptions regarding the purchase of ocean front property in Mexico. As a brokerage company, we are well informed about your rights to own property in Mexico, and would like to share the following with you:
Myth # 1- I am a foreigner; therefore, I cannot own ocean front property in Mexico.
Fact- Beginning in 1994, the Mexican Government has allowed foreigners to own ocean front property in Mexico, via their own Mexican Corporation. The Corporation, being a legal entity, holds title to the property, and you own the Corporation. You need at least two people as stockholders, you and a colleague; attorney; accountant; family member; etc. Your Mexican Corporation can own ocean front property, even if, its owners are foreigners to Mexico.
Myth #2- I need to have a Mexican National as a shareholder, to own property in Mexico.
Fact- This is no longer true. Non-Mexicans can now own 100% of a Mexican Corporation, and this Mexican Corporation can own 100% of the purchased ocean front property.
Myth #3- I need to have a Bank Trust, and pay high annual fees to purchase property in Mexico.
Fact- Before the Mexican Corporation system was passed into law, the only way to own property on a Mexican beach was to form a Mexican Trust. The Bank is the Trustee and you are the Beneficiary. You would then need to pay the bank $300-$700 a year to administer the trust. In addition, in the trust system you need to hire a lawyer to do the paper work. The lawyer will charge about $2,000. U.S. for the paperwork, and then the bank will charge you another $2,000 U.S. for the creation of the Trust. If you wanted to sell your land, you need specific permission from the bank to do so. Once again, you would need to hire a lawyer, pay him/her again, pay the Bank, etc… If you wanted to purchase another piece of land, you would need to form another Trust, and go through the same process. It is time consuming and costly. You no longer have to go through all of that. Today you can form a Mexican Corporation, this method is simple and affordable.
Myth #4- The Mexican Government can take my land after I purchase.
This publication has been designed at the request of many of our past customers as well as from those not yet involved with the Costa Maya but whom would also like to be kept informed on what is going on. For those that are already owners of some part of the Costa Maya – congratulations. Infrastructure continues at a steady rate and with it comes increased property values. For those still not involved, don’t wait. The time to buy is before the government-funded infrastructure is completed. Not after. This newsletter will provide bi-monthly updates on the Costa Maya, alternating in the areas of food, lot prices, infrastructure progress, weather and wild life. We will be answering popular questions as well as questions by request in the next few issues.
Fact- Not true. The Mexican Government can only take your land, if you fail to pay your real estate taxes for an extended period time. Just like in the United States, there is due process. Foreign investment is a major part of the Mexican economy, and is so, because land ownership in Mexico is very stable.
Myth #5- The properties in Mexico do not have a clear and transferable Title and I cannot build on the land I purchase.
Fact- Having a clear and transferable title is very important, not only in Mexico, but all over the world. All of the properties Trans Caribbean Trust Company represents have a clear and transferable title and are buildable. We guarantee this in our transactions. If we are not representing certain properties on the Costa Maya, it is because the seller could not provide us with a clear and transferable title.
Myth #6- The seller of the property will get my deposit before the closing of the property has taken place, and if this happens I lose my entire deposit.
Fact- There are many sellers who conduct business in this manner. This is not the case with Trans Caribbean Trust Company. We hold the buyer’s deposit in our escrow account. The transfer of the deposit is given to the seller once the property has gone through closing, and a clear title is transferred to the buyer. We do request a 10% deposit to take a property off the market. This is to show the seller your good faith in purchasing his/her property. Our policy states, that if for any reason you do not wish to complete the purchase of your property, we will refund to you the entire amount of your deposit.
Myth #7- Closing costs are very expensive in Mexico.
Fact- Closing costs can be very expensive in Mexico, but it depends entirely on who handles the closing. Trans Caribbean Trust Company has worked to make closings as efficient as possible. We have negotiated with the sellers, to have them pay for the entire closing expense including the formation of your Mexican Corporation. The price you are quoted on a property, is the price you pay. You will have no surprises.
Myth #8- I am only leasing the land, I don’t actually own it, and after 99 years I have to give the land back to the Mexican Government.
Fact- This is not true if you form a Mexican Corporation. The Mexican Corporation is the system we recommend to our clients.
Myth #9- I have to build a structure on my ocean front property within five years.
Fact- There is no time limit for construction on property in Mexico. Typically, an area which requires construction within a certain time period, is trying to artificially boost the value of the property with these improvements. Mexican Caribbean ocean front property, does not need help to increase its value, it stands on its own merit. The value is on the location, not on what is built on it. Be wary of areas that tell you that you must build within a certain time period. It can mean that the value of the land is not very high and is not expected to increase, unless you place a structure on it.
Myth #10- Annual taxes are extraordinarily high on the Costa Maya.
Fact- Real estate taxes are remarkably low on the Costa Maya. At least we think so. The tax rate is about $50USD for an average ocean front lot. So, if you have a double lot, the taxes would be about This publication has been designed at the request of many of our past customers as well as from those not yet involved with the Costa Maya but whom would also like to be kept informed on what is going on. For those that are already owners of some part of the Costa Maya – congratulations. Infrastructure continues at a steady rate and with it comes increased property values. For those still not involved, don’t wait. The time to buy is before the government-funded infrastructure is completed. Not after. This newsletter will provide bi-monthly updates on the Costa Maya, alternating in the areas of food, lot prices, infrastructure progress, weather and wild life. We will be answering popular questions as well as questions by request in the next few issues. $100USD, or the cost of taking your family out to dinner. What do you think?
Now that we have cleared up all of those doubts about owning an ocean front property on the Mexican Caribbean, what are you waiting for? Become part of the Costa Maya today! In our last issue of the Costa Maya Times I promised we would have a Costa Maya Margarita recipe.
If you would like to receive a copy of this recipe, please e-mail me. Also, if you would like to set up an appointment to view properties with us, or if you have questions, please feel free to e-mail me at: email@example.com
Yury DiPasquale, Sr. Correspondence Administrator
Trans Caribbean Trust Company, Mexico.
Look for the Costa Maya Enchilada recipes in our next Issue of the Costa Maya Times.
I am a Coatimundi. My scientific name is Nasua narica, but you can just call me Coati. I am extremely cute, harmless, and I really love to hang out with my family. I live on the Costa Maya, among other tropical areas of Mexico. Keep an eye out, because you may see me strolling through your ocean front property with my family, in groups of 3 or more. See ya soon on the Costa Maya! | <urn:uuid:f2908e19-8f36-48db-bb9b-beebbd724f0b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.transcaribbeantrust.com/times/tag/fauna/page/5/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959985 | 1,762 | 1.734375 | 2 |
The Wellesley High School teacher who famously told the class of 2012 that they were not special in his commencement speech has landed a book deal with the Ecco imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
“It’s going to be on a subject about which, I believe, I have a certain expertise,” said David McCullough Jr. “And that is — are you ready? — high school.”
McCullough caused an international sensation with his speech June 1, when he told Wellesley High graduates: “You are not special. You are not exceptional.
“Contrary to what your U9 soccer trophy suggests, your glowing seventh-grade report card, despite every assurance of a certain corpulent purple dinosaur, that nice Mister Rogers, and your batty Aunt Sylvia, no matter how often your maternal caped crusader has swooped in to save you . . . you’re nothing special.”
His point, of course, was a little more philosophical than that sound-bite would suggest, but it was the sound-bite that hit the airwaves first.
News organizations from all over picked up the story, from the Los Angeles Times to the British tabloid Daily Mail, which ran with the headline: “ ‘You’re NOT special’: Teacher rants at ‘pampered, cosseted, and doted upon’ students in bizarre graduation speech.’ ”
The speech even inspired its own video contest, organized by the Wellesley Media Corporation, where entrants competed for a “one-of-a-kind trophy” by making videos about what made them special.
But what McCullough was really telling the graduates in his speech was that happiness is not about the prizes you win, but the verve and passion with which you live.
“Exercise free will and creative, independent thought not for the satisfactions they will bring you, but for the good they will do others, the rest of the 6.8 billion — and those who will follow them,” McCullough said at the end of his speech. “And then you, too, will discover the great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself. The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special, because everyone is.”
The book, he said, will expand on the themes in his speech. It will explore the full high school experience. It will be, he hopes, a guide for both teenagers and for grownups.
“I think people are discontent with what’s happening in our schools,” he said. “Our kids are underperforming. They’re emerging from high school underprepared. And we’re doing the easy thing, which is lowering our standards, rather than reforming our methods.
“And I think we need to put more faith in the kids, to give them more room to fail, to encourage them to experiment more than they have,” McCullough said. “There’s so much pressure on kids these days to perform. To achieve accolades, they’re taking the careful route. They’re afraid to fail. They’re afraid even to stumble. . . . That inhibits their education.”
When his commencement speech, which has now picked up nearly 1.7 million views on YouTube, first attracted wider notice, McCullough said, he felt as if he had been swept off to Oz in a tornado.
“It still feels that way,” he said.
As he sifted through about 850 e-mails he received as his speech went viral, McCullough said he found inquiries from eight or nine agents and three or four publishers. With his agent’s coaching, he wrote a proposal, which she shopped around.
Ecco won the rights to publish the book in an auction, according to an Ecco statement.
“I couldn’t be more excited about publishing David McCullough’s book, which will evolve from his remarkable commencement speech,” said Daniel Halpern, of Ecco. “As the father of a graduating high schooler, I was moved and enlightened by the issues he raises and the good sense with which he approaches them. The general response to that speech has been overwhelming, more than a million and a half views on YouTube! Clearly the nerve he’s hit is not localized, but is a message for us all.”
The book is tentatively scheduled for publication in fall 2013, according to Ecco.
McCullough has already started writing. He has taken a leave of absence from Wellesley High School.
While he will miss teaching, the opportunity to write a book was one he could not pass up, he said. “At my late stage – I’m 53 — you don’t expect these things to happen.” | <urn:uuid:beeff30f-8738-4b00-9d3d-79fd9fe4d879> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/08/16/wellesley-high-school-teacher-you-not-special-speech-lands-him-book-deal/knGEqzvFxXrXh0Zu1AjQyJ/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976252 | 1,047 | 1.78125 | 2 |
(DEPARTURES.com) -- Renowned architects with an eye for the arts are behind some of the most beautiful—and functional—theaters in the world.
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Although performing arts centers worldwide today hire the globe's top architects to design their theaters, the trend actually dates back long before the 21st century. "If you look at the history of theater in New York, designs in the early part of the 20th century were all by well-known architects, like Thomas Lamb and the Eidlitz brothers," says Laurie Beckelman, president of Beckelman + Capalino, a New York--based arts consulting firm, and former chair of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. "More recently, Eero Saarinen, who did the TWA terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport, also designed the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. It's not a new phenomenon."
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Many winners of the Pritzker Prize—the most prestigious award in architecture—have designed a number of these new theaters, receiving accolades for their work. Theaters by prize winners include Jean Nouvel's Guthrie Theater complex in Minneapolis (his first completed project in North America) and Frank Gehry and Hugh Hardy's Pershing Square Signature Center, the new home of the Signature Theatre Company on West 42nd Street in Manhattan. The Shanghai Poly Theater, by Tadao Ando, is now under construction in Jiading, China, next to a man-made lake in the center of a large park.
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These architects "think as artists," says Beckelman. For example, Gehry—who also designed the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York—is also a sculptor, and therefore "he has an incredible range, a lifetime of experiences and a passion for all types of arts," she says.
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Cathleen McGuigan, editor in chief of Architectural Record, the oldest professional magazine for architects in the United States, describes well-known architects commissioned to design theaters as "architects of drama, and these are spaces for drama." That includes the work of Moshe Safdie, who designed the Muriel Kauffman Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri, and Gehry. "[Their work is] very much about the flow of people moving in space," she says, adding, "What's the interesting challenge about theater is they have to have space where an enormous number of people converge and circulate to their seats. These are architects who think about how people move and enter a theater, and they do so in a dramatic and elegant way."
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© 2010 American Express Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:8f3b556f-d85e-4737-adee-36950c3c77cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://us.cnn.com/2012/09/18/living/departures-starchitect-theaters/index.html?hpt=li_t5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949899 | 604 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Sqords aren’t pedometers, which merely measure steps. They’re accelerometers, the same kind of gizmo behind the Nike + FuelBand, Jawbone Up, Fitbit and other products marketed to adults as a way to keep tabs on overall physical activity. Although the grown-up gadgets tend to emphasize data, especially the number of calories burned, Sqord is focused on winning medals, competing with pals and sending positive messages through your “PowerMe” avatar.
“We’re big into getting kids moving and keeping them moving through their whole lives,” says P.E. teacher Mike Humphreys, who launched the school’s Sqord pilot program two months ago, starting with the fifth-graders and a handful of teachers. It’ll soon expand to more staff and students, including the eager fourth-graders who’ve been banging on Humphreys’s office door every day begging for news.
So far, so good — for the most part. Some students were a little too energetic at first, trying to score extra points when they should have been paying attention in class. Now they’ve figured out other ways to boost their totals. “I’ve been told I move when I sleep, so I wear it to bed,” 10-year-old Mauricio Zeballos told me during P.E. last week, just before Humphreys asked the class whether they had any feedback.
Every hand in the room shot up. They want to be able to wear it different ways (not just on their wrists). They want the devices to be more interactive. They want the Web portal to have more ways to communicate with friends.
If it weren’t for the fact that one of those raised hands was a request to be excused to use the bathroom, I might have forgotten this was a room full of tweens. The issues they raised are the exact same ones that are shaping the adult activity tracking market.
Take, for instance, the wristband issue. The bands are typically made of plastic and rubber, which clash with business or formal attire. That’s why Sonny Vu, co-founder and chief executive of Misfit Wearables, is optimistic about its tracker that comes out this spring. The Shine ($99), which is the size of a stack of two quarters, is metal and can be worn on a wristband, a necklace or a clasp (that you can attach to a shoe, bra or pants).
“I don’t really know whether self-tracking is all that natural of a thing to do,” says Vu, who predicts that devices won’t stick around unless they’re easy to use and offer something extra. The benefit of the Shine? “Beauty. Our internal design principle is you’d wear it even if it was broken.” | <urn:uuid:5bb9f279-183a-48f9-a0bf-38f3909e9328> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/activity-monitors-that-can-keep-up-with-kids/2013/03/05/57a7bc02-7c73-11e2-9a75-dab0201670da_story.html?wprss=rss_wellness | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960595 | 608 | 1.617188 | 2 |
I liked your face, bronzed by time and burden
I liked the gleam in your eyes—of truth, of fight.
When you asked me: How does a free Kashmir look to you?
I was only looking at your sculptured hands
I wanted to hold your hand and tell you
about all my dreams--wordless, clockless.
When I saw your worn out chapals and your carefree feet,
as if still dangling in the ancient waters reflecting a promise
I wanted to ask, what do they mean to you—earth and freedom.
Your eyes when filled mine,
I saw the dream in my eyes reflected in yours
We carry burdens of our own
I don’t have a country
You don’t belong in yours
Your hands reminded me of a kite maker I dreamt about
I liked the way you carelessly picked your words
and the smile that escaped you
when I laughed in hysteria, in madness.
When you hurriedly wrote Mustafa on your notebook and looked at me puzzled,
And then as if recalling some childhood tales, your mind summoned verses,
perhaps of the muezzin who would pass you patting your head,
your face resurrected from a dead dream.
When you muttered secular, your lips pursed,
I heard sounds, of crumbling illusions.
I wanted to know what was your face like when you were a child, playing in the forests
that no longer belong to you and your people!
I don’t harbor hope,
I wanted to ask, do you?
When I grew frantic talking about dead and disappeared,
you reassured the promise a dream is impregnated with!
Of my country
I only thought about you,
Your hands, the lines on it, the map, the country on your hands!
Your long strides reminded me, both of us, have a long journey to undertake
The caravans have just begun and it is a long dark night before we reach our country!
[The writer is a New Delhi-based Kashmir scholar. Her poem: 'Of Immortal Flowers' was published recently in Cerebrations.] | <urn:uuid:27aa9b23-9cf8-4154-8fcb-cafdb740078e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kashmirdispatch.com/poetry/08099258-of-our-azaadi-and-your-country.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941969 | 450 | 1.65625 | 2 |
THE result of the American presidential election on November 6th could determine the shape of Israel's election in January. A win for the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, may make Binyamin Netanyahu, his old friend and Israel’s current prime minister, seem pretty invincible. Invincible enough, anyway, to deter Ehud Olmert, the former prime minister and Mr Netanyahu’s nemesis, from running against him.
If, on the other hand, President Barack Obama wins, Mr Olmert may find the prospect of returning to office irresistible. He is itching to run, despite an ongoing trial for bribery and other unfinished legal business—but only if he stands a fair chance of upending Mr Netanyahu's rightist-religious coalition.
Some polls suggest he would, especially if Mr Netanyahu was seen to have backed the wrong American horse and to be vulnerable, now, to some vengeful hostility from a second-term Obama administration. If Mr Olmert does run, others, like the former foreign minister, Tsipi Livni, may decide to do so with him. Mr Netanyahu may no longer be a shoo-in in terms of his ability to form a new coalition after the election. At least one component of the present Netanyahu coalition, the Sephardic-religious Shas party, might be prepared to move across to an Olmert-led alliance.
But even if, as others predict, Mr Olmert and his allies failed to dislodge Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party from power, they would change the face of the election campaign. The focus would shift markedly, from domestic issues to peace policy. Mr Olmert claims he was close to a comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians in 2008 before being forced to resign as prime minister amid a welter of financial allegations.
That version of events has been publicly corroborated by the usually reticent Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. Mr Olmert has since stood trial on the allegations that drove him from office, and been acquitted. His supporters speak darkly of a plot, hatched on the far right and financed in America, to topple him before he made a deal that would have ended the occupation, rolled up many of the settlements on the West Bank, and created an independent Palestinian state.
He was convicted, however, on another, lesser charge. And the state prosecution, in a rare move, has announced that it will appeal his acquittals to the Supreme Court. The trial for bribery, in which he is one of a dozen defendants, is a further complication.
Many voters, even those for whom a peace deal is a priority, will have a hard time supporting a politician so tainted. But any belief such voters may have had in Mr Netanyahu's occasional protestations that he, too, seeks a deal with the Palestinians will have been put to rest by the merger last week of his Likud party with Yisrael Beitenu, the party of his ultra-hardline foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman. Mr Olmert reckons that at the end of the day, if presented with a realistic prospect of dislodging Mr Netanyahu and resuming the abandoned peace process, most moderate Israelis would swallow hard, and give the peace ticket their backing. | <urn:uuid:9fc0ad41-aa93-46af-a1b4-8a5d261c70f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2012/11/israeli-politics/email | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974066 | 667 | 1.640625 | 2 |
"I definitely think [an abundance of acorns] played a role," he said. "Our preseason mast survey indicated that the acorn crop was a bit spotty, but where acorns 'hit,' there were lots of them.
"As a result, deer in most places stayed back in the woods, hanging around those oak flats where the acorns were. Deer weren't out in the field edges as they usually are, and thus were not as vulnerable to the gun."
The aftereffects of Hurricane Sandy might also have contributed to the decline.
"At the time the season opened, lots of downed limbs and trees still had forest roads blocked," Johansen said. "Some hunters, especially in the high-mountain counties, couldn't get to their favorite spots."
The harvest decline wasn't exactly statewide. The buck kill actually increased in DNR game-management districts IV and V, the state's southwestern and southeastern counties. The District IV harvest jumped 8 percent and the District V kill rose 2.5 percent.
The largest decreases occurred in the state's western and central counties. The kill in west-central District VI plummeted 15 percent. It dropped 10 percent in District III, smack in the center of the state.
Counties with the 10 highest kills were Preston, 2,108; Greenbrier, 1,907; Randolph, 1,792; Mason, 1,667; Jackson, 1,662; Hampshire, 1,570; Monroe, 1,563; Ritchie, 1,518; Wetzel, 1,496; and Hardy, 1,435.
Johansen said DNR biologists would have a better handle on exactly what happened once they've had a chance to analyze all the data from the buck harvest and not just the preliminary tag count.
"After all the data from the check tags get keyed into our computers, we'll be looking at the numbers six ways to Sunday trying to figure out what they're telling us," he said.
Reach John McCoy at johnmc...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1231. | <urn:uuid:3e0ef329-051c-498d-9d18-acc8ab8c91c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wvgazette.com/Outdoors/HuntingFishing/201212100117?page=2&build=cache | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971055 | 434 | 1.6875 | 2 |
The peace camp and the challenge of international order
Jack Strocchi poses the challenge:
Now it is time for the peace bloggers to start doing their sums. If the US caves in, I issue this challenge to the most competent advocate in the peace camp: what will the long term consequence for international order be when the US is forced to backdown and relinquish global threat neutralisation responsibilty to the impotent and inept UN and the unwilling EU?
Given that Jack has adversely characterized the EU and UN, let me observe that the US is thoroughly ill-suited to the role of hegemon in which he wants to cast it. The US record in the Middle East proves this. The problem states in the region, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran (as well as the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and OBL himself) are current or former US clients, and the problems we have now can be traced directly to past US policy. In addition, the US has excluded all other powers from intervening in the Israel-Palestine dispute, and the disastrous failure to achieve peace must be laid at the door of the successive US administrations who have asserted ownership of the problem.
The defects of past policy are entirely evident today. The first is a black-and-white notion of good and evil, which, when combined with realist power politics produces disastrous outcomes. One regime is demonised as uniquelyevil, with the result that all its enemies are regarded as good. In the 1980s, Khomeini’s Iran was the villain and Saddam was “a thug, but our thug”, using weapons of mass destruction with the tacit approval of the US. Today, Saddam is the villain and the Saudi and Kuwaiti governments are good guys.
The other, even more noteworthy defect is a short attention span. In five years time, Iraq will still be a mess but the Americans will have forgotten about it and moved on to some other concern. If anyone picks up the pieces it will be the EU and UN that Jack derides.
The alternative to US hegemony is a series of messy compromises, formulated on a case-by-case basis. I’ll post more on what this means in the case of Iraq soon.
It’s getting harder to read the tealeaves as the UNMOVIC report (Jan 27) and Bush’s State of the Union speech (Jan 28) draw closer, but the latest reports saying that the U.S. May Not Press U.N. for a Decision on Iraq Next Week seem to support the messy compromise scenario. | <urn:uuid:08f30787-c7a2-4a8b-91d1-43fbb3dee6ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://johnquiggin.com/2003/01/25/the-peace-camp-and-the-challenge-of-international-order/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952962 | 529 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Ten fire crews are still working to contain bushfires on Bribie Island, north of Brisbane.
In the latest bushfire advice issued on Thursday, the Queensland Department of Community Safety says properties aren't being threatened, but a large-scale backburn in the forested area on the island's west side is spending smoke across the area.
Sixteen crews had worked overnight to strengthen containment lines after blazes looked likely to threaten homes on Wednesday.
People with respiratory problems are still being advised to stay indoors.
Residents near White Patch have been urged to listen for radio updates.
Acting Community Safety Minister Steve Dickson says more than 400 hectares of plantation forest and 700 hectares of national park had been affected by bushfires.
"The firefighters in the region have done an amazing job both fighting flames and containing fires," he said in a statement.
"Together with other emergency workers they have been able to protect the Bribie Island community while working in searing heat along difficult terrain."
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned conditions across the state indicate a high fire danger, with temperatures expected to rise well above 30C in most areas. | <urn:uuid:5cea59fa-31d4-4c81-8b06-a52440fcd027> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news.net/article/94866/Top+Stories | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961702 | 233 | 1.6875 | 2 |
About 52 per cent of children aged between seven and 14, a figure that stands for over 1.4 million children in absolute terms, performed work in economic activities, according to the ITUC.
Seven out of every 10 child workers between the ages of five and 17 work in the agricultural sector. Children work as street vendors, collect rubbish, and perform other types of labor.
by Bridget Di Certo and Chhay Channyda [from The Phnom Penh Post, Wednesday, 02 November 2011 12:04] Labour legislation in Cambodia is so weak and so often ignored that half the Kingdom’s children between the ages of seven and 14 participate in the workforce, the world’s largest federation of unions has told the World Trade [...]
Yi Somphose, Tep Nimol, David Boyle and Eak Soung Chhay Scores of crying women who said they had been forcibly detained and girls who claimed to have received fake documents to conceal the fact that they were as young as 16-years-old were discovered at a centre owned by the SKMM Investment Group labour recruitment firm [...]
Guardian Weekly By: Claire Colley In March 2008, Cambodia saw the implementation of a new law entitled: Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation. Aimed at offering protection to women in prostitution by making the selling of sex illegal, it has resulted in clean-up operations and police raids of red light areas. Women in prostitution [...] | <urn:uuid:959fceeb-f5ec-470e-b244-87a7b8e5e9ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://stopchildlabor.org/?cat=400 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968184 | 300 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Maryland's highest court heard oral arguments Thursday in a case that could decide the future of the state's death penalty.
The challenge comes from attorneys for Jody Lee Miles, who was convicted of robbery and murder in 1997. He was sentenced to death the next year, and his continued appeals have failed to get him off death row.
The latest appeal, however, aims high -- Miles' lawyers are arguing that Maryland's death penalty should be illegal under the state Constitution. The reading is based on Article 16 of the state's Declaration of Rights, adopted in 1776, which says that "sanguinary laws ought to be avoided as far as it is consistent with the safety of the State."
"We don't use the term 'sanguinary laws' much today, but at the time of its enactment, its meaning was clear and unambiguous," argued Brian Saccenti, an attorney for Miles. "It meant a law authorizing the imposition of the death penalty."
Saccenti told the Maryland Court of Appeals that the framers of Maryland's constitution meant "the safety of the State" to mean "the safety of the state government."
"There was a need for the death penalty possibly in times of insurrection," he said. "Safety of the state is not synonymous with public safety."
James Williams, senior counsel in the Maryland Attorney General's Office, argued that Saccenti's reading of the Constitution is contradicted by the actions of its authors.
"As governor, one of the seven framers of the Maryland Declaration of Rights actually approved a death sentence for six individuals during his tenure," Williams said. "This was for various crimes relating to breaking into a storehouse and murder by poisoning -- those offenses are not offenses relating in any way to treason."
While Gov. Martin O'Malley has long opposed the death penalty, his office won't say whether he will back a repeal effort in the upcoming legislative session. O'Malley made a similar push in 2009, but that law only added restrictions on when the death penalty could be used.
The state has five inmates on death row and has not executed anyone since 2005. | <urn:uuid:8261f240-1fb2-4761-913c-ca972aa491cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://washingtonexaminer.com/maryland-court-of-appeals-hears-death-penalty-arguments/article/2517502 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978184 | 435 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Haryana’s Mewat area, which has a substantial population of Muslims, will now have a separate cadre of teachers, a lawmaker said Sunday.
Mewat legislator Aftab Ahmed said in a statement that 5,000 posts of teachers have been sanctioned for the area to improve the level of education there.
This is the first time that the Haryana government has sanctioned a separate cadre of teachers for a particular district in the state.
Ahmed said that the government had notified Mewat District School Education rules and it had been made mandatory that those teachers who were willing for appointment in Mewat would not be transferred to any other district.
However, aspirants from all the state's 21 districts of the state could apply for these posts, he added.
Urdu would be taught in all the primary schools of Mewat and 544 posts of Urdu teachers have been sanctioned to promote the language, Ahmed said.
In the last two years, nearly 1,500 teachers have been appointed in Mewat, which lies in southwest Haryana. | <urn:uuid:281368f0-c330-4183-b7c2-cf8873cb0692> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a295767.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978327 | 220 | 1.515625 | 2 |
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Home Prices Continue to Rise
Posted By susanne On August 1, 2012 @ 4:00 PM In Business Development,Business Development & Best Practices,Business Outlook,Consumer News and Advice,Finance and Economy,Finance, Economy & Government Issues,Home Owner News,Real Estate News,Real Estate Trends,Today's Marketplace,Today's Top Story,Today's Top Story - Consumer | Comments Disabled
Data through May 2012, released by S&P Dow Jones Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, showed that average home prices increased by 2.2 percent in May over April for both the 10- and 20-City Composites.
With May’s data, we found that home prices fell annually by 1.0 percent for the 10-City Composite and by 0.7 percent for the 20-City Composite versus May 2011. Both Composites and 17 of the 20 MSAs saw increases in annual returns in May compared to April. Boston, Charlotte and Detroit were the three cities that saw their annual returns worsen in May, with annual rates of -0.1 percent, +0.9 percent and +0.6 percent, respectively. Atlanta continues to be the only city posting a double-digit negative annual return with -14.5 percent. However, this is an improvement over the -17.0 percent annual decline recorded in April 2012. All 20 cities and both Composites posted positive monthly returns. No cities posted new lows in May 2012.
In May 2012, both Composites were up by 2.2 percent month-over-month, and posted annual returns of -1.0 percent and -0.7 percent, respectively.
“With May’s data, we saw a continuing trend of rising home prices for the spring,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “On a monthly basis, all 20 cities and both Composites posted positive returns and 17 of those cities saw those rates of change increase compared to what was observed for April. Seventeen of the 20 cities and both Composites also saw improved annual rates of return. We have observed two consecutive months of increasing home prices and overall improvements in monthly and annual returns; however, we need to remember that spring and early summer are seasonally strong buying months so this trend must continue throughout the summer and into the fall.
“The 10- and 20-City Composites were each up 2.2 percent for the month and recorded respective annual rates of decline of 1.0 percent and 0.7 percent, compared to May 2011. While still negative, these annual changes are the best we’ve since in at least 18 months.
“Taking a closer look at the cities, Phoenix again posted the best annual return. Average home prices in that region were up 11.5 percent versus May 2011. It was one of the hardest hit cities in the collapse, and prices are still more than 50 percent below their June 2006 peak, but the past five months have been positive for that market. Miami and Tampa are two other Sunbelt cities that were hard-hit in the downturn, but are now showing positive annual rates of change. Boston, Charlotte and Detroit, on the other hand, saw their annual rates of return deteriorate compared to April, even though prices rose over the month of May. Las Vegas posted both a positive monthly change in May and saw an improvement in its annual return; that said, the market is still more than 60 percent below it August 2006 peak.
“June data for existing home sales, new home sales, housing starts and mortgage default rates were a bit mixed, but all are better than their year-ago levels. The housing market seems to be stabilizing, but we are definitely in a wait-and-see mode for the next few months.”
As of May 2012, average home prices across the United States are back to the levels where they were in spring 2003 for the 20-City Composite and to summer 2003 levels for the 10-City Composite. Measured from their June/July 2006 peaks through May 2012, the decline for both Composites is approximately 33 percent. The 10-City Composite recently reached its low in the current housing cycle in March 2012 and the 20-City in February 2012; at that time both Composites were down approximately 35 percent from their summer 2006 peaks.
In May 2012, we observed all 20 MSAs and both Composites posting positive monthly returns. Atlanta, again, was the only city to post a double-digit negative annual rate of return of 14.5 percent; however it saw improvements in both monthly and annual rates versus what was published for April. Phoenix posted the highest annual rate of growth amongst all 20 cities at +11.5 percent, an improvement over the +8.6 percent annual return recorded in April. Chicago fared the best in terms of monthly returns with a 4.5 percent increase in home prices as compared to April. Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas continue to have average home prices below their January 2000 levels.
For more information, visit www.homeprice.standardandpoors.com .
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Copyright © 2012 RISMedia. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:e353480b-3d8e-41ec-a044-83e3c2d2c1b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rismedia.com/2012-08-01/home-prices-continue-to-rise/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958173 | 1,206 | 1.539063 | 2 |
WEDNESDAY, April 4 (HealthDay News) -- Really, really liking yourself may give you the edge in your next job interview, a new study suggests.
That's because narcissists, known to be obnoxiously high on self-esteem, are better able to talk about and promote themselves, which projects confidence and expertise to interviewers, University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers explained.
In their two-part study, narcissists scored much higher in a simulated job interview than equally qualified non-narcissists.
"This is one setting where it's OK to say nice things about yourself and there are no ramifications. In fact, it's expected," study co-author Peter Harms, an assistant professor of management, said in a university news release. "Simply put, those who are comfortable doing this tend to do much better than those who aren't."
The study, which appears in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, first involved 72 people being videotaped as job applicants. While non-narcissistic people eased up on their self-promotion when challenged by expert interviewers, the narcissists actually increased their attempts to promote themselves, the researchers found.
In the second part of the study, 222 expert interviewers rated videos of applicants with similar job skills and varying degrees of narcissism. The self-promoters -- those who spoke quickly and at length and used such "ingratiation tactics" as smiling, gesturing and complimenting others -- received far more positive evaluations than equally qualified applicants who used tactical modesty, the researchers reported.
"This shows that what is getting (narcissists) the win is the delivery," Harms said. "These results show just how hard it is to effectively interview, and how fallible we can be when making interview judgments. We don't necessarily want to hire narcissists, but might end up doing so because they come off as being self-confident and capable."
The findings also suggest that interviewers need to be aware of the tactics used by narcissists, Harms said.
"On the whole, we find very little evidence that narcissists are more or less effective workers. But what we do know is that they can be very disruptive and destructive when dealing with other people on a regular basis," he said.
And, he added, "If everything else is equal, it probably is best to avoid hiring them."
The U.S. National Library of Medicine explains narcissistic personality disorder.
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:95ba9181-7122-4e8a-a65c-b45c00905040> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/04/04/narcissists-often-ace-job-interviews-study-finds | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967989 | 519 | 1.65625 | 2 |
IN anticipation of a few days off after a whirlwind week, I found myself wishing for the dog days of summer.
I was thinking of a slow, sultry respite. I would lie on my screened porch with a good book and a cold drink. The book would fall from my hands and the condensation would bead on the glass as I slipped into a blissful nap.
The thought was appealing, but I decided to fact-check my notion of "dog days."
Wikipedia burst the peaceful illusion.
The phrase dates to ancient times, when people believed the hottest days of summer were caused by Sirius, the brightest star in the constellation known as Canis Major, or "large dog."
They believed late July to late August to be an evil time when "the Sea boiled, the Wine turned sour, Dogs grew mad, and all other creatures became languid; causing to man, among other diseases, burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies," according to Brady's Clavis Calendaria, 1813.
You could laugh off the beliefs of those ignorant Romans and Greeks, but just consider some of the events of this week.
Kanawha County Prosecutor Mark Plants, apparently shaken by threats made during the investigation of the 2003 sniper killings, urged potential witnesses to arm themselves with guns or ball bats.
Hordes of people stirred by controversy over gay marriage formed long lines and waited in the hot sun for chicken sandwiches.
The mayor of the biggest city in the country called on hospitals to lock up their supplies of baby formula so new mothers would be forced to breast feed.
Korean badminton players threw a game so they could draw a weaker opponent later in the Olympics.
Could these be "phrensies?"
n n n
If I can overcome my newfound fear of Sirius, I already have my good book loaded and ready to go on my Kindle. I'm well into "The Power of Habit" by New York Times writer Charles Duhigg, and I hope to wake from the nap and finish it.
After that I may dive back into "Nudge," a book with a similar theme by professors from the University of Chicago and Harvard Law School.
Both books explore the idea of using small motivations to spark big change.
Habits have the power to make things go very well or very badly. I learned this early in life. | <urn:uuid:67373c47-9659-40b0-be9e-f299527105e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailymail.com/Opinion/NanyaFriend/201208030065 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9717 | 491 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
Wed October 5, 2011
Greenville taking additional steps to save water
GREENVILLE - The continued dry conditions have forced City of Greenville officials to implement Stage 3 of its Water Conservation Plan.
In a press release issued Wednesday, the city says they’re now seeking a 20% reduction in total water use and/or daily water demand and is asking for the cooperation of citizens. Under the new rules, residents are to limit irrigation of landscaped areas to two days per week, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. for hose-end sprinklers and from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. for automatic sprinkler systems, as assigned by the following street address numbers: Sundays and Thursdays for customers with a street address ending in an even number (0,2,4,6,8)on Saturdays and Wednesdays for customers with a street address ending in an odd number (1,3,5,7,9).
You’re also urged to limit use of water to fill, refill, or add to any indoor or outdoor swimming pools, wading pools, or Jacuzzi-type pools except on designated watering days. Washing of vehicles (car, truck, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane, etc.) is only allowed on designated watering days by use of a hand-held bucket or hand-held hose equipped with a positive shutoff nozzle for quick rinses. Vehicle washing may be done at any time on the immediate premises of a commercial car wash or commercial service station.
Use of water from fire hydrants is limited to fire fighting, related activities, or other activities necessary to maintain public health, safety and welfare. Use of water from designated fire hydrants for construction purposes under special permit is to be discontinued except for the amount necessary for the actual construction of structures.
The city receives its water from Lake Tawakoni, which as of Wednesday, was only six inches above the lowest level ever recorded, which came in 2006.
Violators of the water plan could face a fine or even have their water turned off.
For more information visit www.ci.greenville.tx.us/savewater. | <urn:uuid:d48f578c-610e-451a-9329-14e4ac2e504c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ketr.org/post/greenville-taking-additional-steps-save-water | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942444 | 468 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Posted: Apr 16, 2011 2:23 PM by Chris Welty
Updated: Apr 16, 2011 2:23 PM
ALONG THE GULF COAST (AP) - In the small brick church across the
road from the chocolate waters of Bayou Lafourche, the Rev. Joseph
Anthony Pereira unbuttons his collar as the last parishioners pull
out of the lot. Tonight, nearly a year after the BP oil spill
began, he's asked his congregation of shrimpers and oil industry
workers to think about lessons learned when survival is in
But Pereira doubts many from the 5 p.m. Mass are ready to take
his Lenten message to heart.
"You speak about this to them because they forget what they
went through," says Pereira, who pastors at St. Joseph's Church in
Galliano, La., a community that ties its fortunes to the Gulf of
Mexico. "Because BP has spoiled them, given them all this money,
they've gone back to the old ways. They give them big bucks and
A year after BP's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 and
triggering a four-month battle to cap the gusher, the people who
make their lives along the Gulf coastline face countless variations
of the trade-off that troubles Pereira.
They are anxious to banish the spill to memory. But that is very
different from being ready to forgive. They are proud to call
themselves independent, yet unsettled to be relying on a company
and government many distrust. They want nothing more than for their
home places to go back to the way they used to be, and in some of
the most visible ways, they have.
But uncertainty lingers, and anger, too. What might be hidden
under the waves? When, if ever, can people so tied to the water be
As the anniversary of the spill approached, an Associated Press
reporter traveled more than 600 miles along the Gulf Coast, from
Louisiana's bayous to the beaches of the Florida Panhandle, through
many twists and turns in the region's ever-evolving state of mind.
At every milepost, there were reminders of the region's bounty
and its resilience. People, voicing faith in the Gulf's power, are
eager to tell anyone who will listen that that their seafood is
safe to eat, that tourists are returning, that the crisis was
overblown - that they will not be bowed.
If only, some say more quietly, it was that simple.
At dawn, the sky south of New Orleans is fringed with violet and
pockets of thick fog mix with the odor from Chevron's Oronite fuel
additives plant. But another 14 miles down Louisiana Highway 23,
the sun breaks through and Mark Brockhoeft motors into a marshland
that is its own world.
Mottled ducks erupt from the high grass. Redfish slice the water
like torpedoes. Brockhoeft has plied this bayou as a fly fishing
guide since 1993. But the familiar scene still kindles a smile.
"You can take it for granted," he says. "We did. Until we
were about to lose it."
Before the spill was capped, thick slicks moved into Barataria
Bay, about 10 miles south. The oil was the last in a series of
setbacks for Brockhoeft, who before the last two recessions and
Hurricane Katrina, worked on the water 250 days a year. When BP
flooded the region with money, he hired out his boat for the
cleanup for $1,560 a day. Meanwhile, he sent back customers'
deposits and talked with friends about moving.
Crews kept the oil at bay long enough to keep these backwaters
open to fishing and to cap the well. Now, when clients call to ask,
Brockhoeft assures them that "it's beautiful. Come on down."
But the guide says he'll be glad this year to get bookings for
more than 130 days on the water. And, while he's upbeat about the
health of the estuary, he watches for signs oil and dispersant
might eventually filter into a world that sees fish and other
wildlife migrate between bayou and Gulf.
"I wouldn't bank on the way things are going to be five years
from now," he says. "We might not even be here."
Across the Mississippi River in Pointe a La Hache, oysterman
Stanley Encalade is more certain of the spill's toll. Encalade and
others say they are barely hanging on after officials flooded
shellfishing grounds with river water to keep out the oil, but
Before Katrina, Encalade says he made about $50,000 a year. But
BP payments are based on the most recent years' business, when he
was climbing out of hurricane-induced debt. So far, he's gotten a
$12,000 check from the compensation fund set up for those whose
livelihoods were affected by the spill.
Encalade worries it could be years before the oyster come back.
So he's refitting his boat, Lady Pamela, with shrimping nets. But
that is not a long-term answer.
"You're going to put me out of business for five or six years
and you're going to pay me for the worst two years of my life? No
man, I don't think so," Encalade says. "It's not over by a
At Gulfport, Miss. the next morning, Susan Joseph is out on the
sand for sunrise, a devotion from Micah 6:8 ("O people, the Lord
has told you what is good...") on her smartphone.
Joseph, from Prosper, Texas, is here to see her newborn
grandchild, returning to the area where she spent childhood
summers, at her grandmother's house a block from the beach.
"I have a strong faith in God and I'm just really thankful he
spared this area because it really is coming back," Joseph says.
"It's just kind of sweet to know that in a few years I'll be able
to bring my granddaughter out here and play with her and tell her
The stories Melvin and Christy Barnes' five daughters are
hearing, though, are very different. In 2004, the couple - she's a
former Allstate agent, he was a boiler operator - used retirement
savings to buy a seafood restaurant and market in Bay St. Louis,
Katrina put the restaurant, Cuz's, under more than 20 feet of
water. The Barneses rebuilt and business was good enough that they
But the spill closed waters that supplied much of the catch sold
in the market. Customers stayed away from the restaurant, too,
repulsed by the idea of eating Gulf seafood. Christy says they've
lost "an easy half a million" in sales. The business now employs
six - its owners included.
When Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer supervising the BP spill
compensation fund, met local business owners at the American Legion
post in January, Melvin Barnes unloaded. Fund workers had lost his
claim twice. They didn't seem to understand he was barely making
"One of the guys (from the compensation fund) got on the phone,
he says, `Well Cuz, it's not costing you as much to operate,"'
Melvin Barnes recalls. "I said, `Are you kidding me?"'
The Barneses have talked about closing and reopening inland, but
doubt there would be as many customers for a seafood place. So they
wait for an interim compensation offer to arrive.
"It's going to be all right," Melvin says, sounding anything
but convinced. "I want to stay positive. Negative attracts
negative. But we're doing OK. Each day gets better. Today wasn't a
good day, but ..."
The uncertainties facing the Barneses are very different from
the ones occupying minds down the coast at The Institute for Marine
Mammal Studies in Gulfport. Inside a white vinyl Quonset hut,
workers huddle over tanks, tending to 50 sea turtles hooked
accidentally in Mississippi Sound last spring and summer. Another
300 turtles washed up dead. In a normal year, the institute might
take in two or three.
But after months of observation, the institute's staff can only
guess about possible connections between the strandings and spill,
theorizing that the turtles swam in to escape the oil, or were
chasing fish that were trying to escape.
"It's a little tricky. You see changes. You make observations.
But sometimes you don't necessarily know what caused it," research
assistant Megan Broadway says. "It's really a long-term process.
It's not like next week you'll have answers."
By afternoon, we're heading down two-lane highway 88 to Bayou La
Batre, "the seafood capital of Alabama."
Stan Wright has been mayor of this community of fishermen,
shipbuilders, and shrimp and oyster processors for 11 years. Once,
he split his time between the elected post and running his family's
oyster business. But it's been closed since last May, when the
spill choked off supply.
"What happens with a hurricane is when the wind stops blowing,
we start rebuilding," says Wright, who wears blue mechanic's
clothes to city hall and owns a pickup with an "OYSTERS" license
plate. "But we don't know when the wind's going to quit blowing
with the oil spill."
This confounds Wright, who used to consider himself expert at
marshaling forces and working the system for aid. After Katrina, he
turned his house into a command center. The town used aid dollars
to buy 74 acres on high land and build 100 houses for residents who
lost theirs to the storm.
Since the spill, Bayou La Batre - which has a population of
2,800 - has filmed its own television commercial, promising its
seafood is safe.
But mayor and town remain hamstrung.
Wright turns his pickup on to Shell Belt Road, pointing out the
seafood plants shut by the spill. His spirits are buoyed when he
pulls up alongside Dominick Ficarino, who tells how his shrimp
processing business is up and thriving, promising customers its
product can pass any test.
"Boy, I need you to get you some pom-poms. You could be my
cheerleader," the mayor tells him.
But the feeling doesn't last. Wright, who has been oystering for
48 of his 54 years, misses getting up at 4 a.m. to go to the family
plant on Faith Street. And while he's financially secure, he's
doesn't know how long many of his town's people can stay sidelined.
"People live here because they've got a job here. It's not
because they love it here. It's because they work here and this is
their life," he says. "It's hard to know what to tell them."
The sign proclaims our arrival at the "world's whitest
beaches." And a year after Pensacola Beach, Fla., was licked by
the oil, the sand looks like sugar under a crystal sky.
At the Paradise Inn, a 55-room, tangerine-and-coral-hued motel,
manager John Turk is busy sorting through reservations, but hasn't
forgotten last year.
"Boy, it just killed us to see that oil," Turk says. "You
could open the patio door of the house and smell it."
Two years ago, he and his wife shelved their lives in Chicago to
follow a dream and move down for a life of beach walks and
At the height of the spill, Turk's wife worried the school where
she teaches might be closed to protect children from the fumes. In
the hotel, with most rooms going begging, Turk watched endless news
of the oil on the TV in the lobby. Now, he marvels at how quickly
the spill was capped, although he remains disappointed in the
federal government's supervision of oil exploration.
"I can't believe they let somebody go down that deep, 5,000
feet, and there weren't five or six backups," he says. "Mother
Nature was very forgiving. But one of these days, she's not going
On this sun-filled afternoon, though, the allure that has drawn
people to Florida's waters since the days of Ponce De Leon remains
Down U.S. 98, it has made a believer of Steve DeNeef, unpacking
supplies for his new scuba diving shop.
Late last year, DeNeef learned his scuba store in Oceanside,
Calif., was losing its lease. About that time, his wife, Amy, flew
east to see their son, an Army helicopter pilot soon to leave for
Afghanistan. She drove down to walk the beaches and called to
report water so clear she could see the bottom.
DeNeef was intrigued. He remembered how, on a trip to New
Orleans months after Katrina, he'd been amazed to find Bourbon
Street rollicking. So he visited Florida, too, taking note of crews
in Hazmat suits "trying to find oil," although he didn't see any.
"That didn't scare us. It's like stuff comes, stuff goes," he
Now, a year after the spill's start, DeNeef's 27-foot Sea Ray is
parked out back, testament to faith in the Gulf's resilience. Soon,
the first customers will come in with questions about the waters
that are this region's greatest treasure. And DeNeef knows just
what to tell them.
"Hey, I just got here," he'll say. "Let's go experience it | <urn:uuid:ddb247cb-5ef8-4777-bb68-eec9a3059e1e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.katc.com/news/along-gulf-spill-still-defines-state-of-mind/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967442 | 2,977 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot
Boston Globe, May 4, 2003
We now know that a good part of President Bush's public support for the Iraq war has been based on false or highly misleading information. While polls have shown that 53 percent of the public believe that Saddam Hussein was "personally involved" in the massacre of Sept. 11, no evidence of this connection has ever been produced.
The war against Social Security has been fueled by similar, wide-ranging deceptions. Mention Social Security to anyone under 50 and the most likely response will be something like "I'm never going to see any of that money."
Yet there is no evidence to support this belief. According to the Social Security trustees' projections, the program is able to pay all promised benefits for the next 40 years. Even those who campaign against Social Security accept that this is true.
That should be the end of the story - 40 years is a long time for any program to be able to pay for itself. But since the trustees make projections for 75 years, opponents of Social Security have seized on a projected shortfall after 2043 to claim that the system is in trouble. And that we must act now to "reform" it.
In reality, the projected shortfall over the whole 75-year period is relatively small. As a share of our national income, it is about three-quarters of one percent. The tax increases that might be needed to close this gap are less than those implemented in the 1940s, '50s, '60s, '70s, or '80s. And we have to remember that the average real (inflation-adjusted) wage 40 years from now will be about 45 percent more than it is today. So if people have to pay a bit more to support a system that keeps most of our senior citizens above the poverty line, they probably won't complain. Their after-tax income will still make them a lot better off than the average employee today.
In short, the whole idea that Social Security needs "reform" is nothing but hype, the product of military-style disinformation. The "coalition of the willing" in the war on Social Security is led by the financial industry, which stands to earn hundreds of billions of dollars in fees and commissions if it can hold Social Security funds in individual accounts. They are joined by wealthy taxpayers who view any government dollar that is not paid out in corporate subsidies as a potential tax break in their pockets.
The reality is that Social Security has never been needed more. As a result of nearly 30 years of wage stagnation for the typical employee, most Americans have found it very difficult to save for retirement. Many who did succeed in saving have now seen much of their retirement funds disappear in the recent stock market crash. And these savings will be further eroded when housing prices decline, which is inevitable given the unprecedented runup in housing values over the last seven years.
But we have not finished with the "sky is falling" predictions, and we will surely hear more as President Bush and the Republican Congress turn their sights toward domestic policy. They will be aided by a group of academic economists who have joined the war effort, lending it legitimacy. These thinkers have devoted endless tracts to Social Security's relatively minor long-term problems, while ignoring such serious crises as an $8 trillion stock market bubble, a collapsing health care system, and decades of stagnating wages for the bulk of the work force.
Social Security's detractors have deployed a series of verbal and accounting tricks to create a false impression of its finances. For example, they point out that while there are now three workers for every person drawing benefits, in 2035 there will be only two. This is technically a true statement, but it is like reporting one-half of a baseball score. The other side of the story is that productivity and income grow year after year, and this growth compensates for the demographic changes.
Another trick is to pretend that the bonds held by the Social Security Trust Fund, now amounting to $1.5 trillion and growing by $200 billion a year, are somehow less "real" than other US Treasury securities. They are often disparaged as "IOUs" - even by financial reporters who should know better - and it is claimed that the government has "raided" the trust fund and "spent all that money." But all bonds are "IOUs," and all Treasury bonds are sold so the government can spend the money. The bonds held by the Social Security Trust Fund are backed by the full faith and credit of the US government, and it is a bit ridiculous to suggest that our government would default on them.
With little wealth accumulated for retirement and traditional pensions rapidly disappearing, tens of millions of baby boomers will be relying on Social Security to provide the vast majority of their retirement income. Fortunately, the system is financially solvent and will remain so - unless its detractors can succeed in deceiving the public enough to carry out their "reforms."
Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot are Co-Directors of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. | <urn:uuid:8c463bba-98f5-4430-9577-cdc8d179e21d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds-&-columns/op-eds-&-columns/a-phony-crisis-met-by-deception/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96973 | 1,048 | 1.640625 | 2 |
This study compares ex ante estimates of the direct costs of individual regulations to ex post assessments of the same regulations. A review of more than two dozen environmental and occupational safety regulations indicates that ex ante estimates of total (direct) costs have tended to exceed actuals. The authors find this to be true of 12 of the 25 rules in their data set, while for only 6 were the ex ante estimates too low. The overestimation of total costs is often due to errors in the quantity of emission reductions achieved by the rule which, in turn, suggest that the rule's benefits may also be overestimated. The quantity errors are driven by both baseline and compliance issues. At least for EPA and OSHA rules, overestimation of per-unit abatement costs occurs about as often as underestimation. In contrast, for those rules that use economic incentives, per-unit costs are consistently overestimated.
Much of the overestimation can be attributed to technical innovations unanticipated at the time the rule is issued, and to quantity errors. In addition, several methodological and procedural explanations also apply: changes in the regulation after the cost estimate is prepared, use of maximum cost estimates, and asymmetric error correction.
Since a number of environmental laws encourage the development of cost estimates that reflect a maximum rather than a mean, regulatory agencies could issue a "best estimate" along with the statutorily preferred cost estimate. Likewise, they could ensure that rule changes made in the course of the regulatory development process are manifest in revised cost estimates. Indeed, discovering how and when to adjust ex ante estimates provides the strongest possible justification for more credible ex post studies—a research activity that merits greater emphasis. | <urn:uuid:df65ccbd-ea9c-44bd-a17e-383dab3b2fac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rff.org/Publications/Pages/PublicationDetails.aspx?PublicationID=17060 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941774 | 336 | 1.671875 | 2 |
12c. Here Is Told The Meeting of Cuchulain And Finnabair
"Let a message be sent to him," said Ailill, "that Finnabair my daughter will be bestowed on him, and for him to keep away from the hosts." Manè Athramail ('Fatherlike') goes to him. But first he addresses himself to Laeg. "Whose man art thou?" spake Manè. Now Laeg made no answer. Thrice Manè addressed him in this same wise. "Cuchulain's man," Laeg answers, "and provoke me not, lest it happen I strike thy head off thee!" "This man is mad," quoth Manè as he leaves him.
Then he goes to accost Cuchulain. It was there Cuchulain had doffed his tunic, and the deep snow was around him where he sat, up to his belt, and the snow had melted a cubit around him for the greatness of the heat of the hero. And Manè addressed him three times in like manner, whose man he was?" Conchobar's man, and do not provoke me. For if thou provokes me any longer I will strike thy head off thee as one strikes off the head of a blackbird!" "No easy thing," quoth Manè, "to speak to these two." Thereupon Manè leaves them and tells his tale to Ailill and Medb.
"Let Lugaid go to him," said Ailill, "and offer him the girl." Thereupon Lugaid goes and repeats this to Cuchulain. "O master Lugaid," quoth Cuchulain, "it is a snare!" "It is the word of a king; he hath said it," Lugaid answered; "there can be no snare in it." "So be it," said Cuchulain. Forthwith Lugaid leaves him and takes that answer to Ailill and Medb. "Let the fool go forth in my form," said Ailill, "and the king's crown on his head, and let him stand some way off from Cuchulain lest he know him; and let the girl go with him and let the fool promise her to him, and let them depart quickly in this wise. And methinks ye will play a trick on him thus, so that he will not stop you any further till he comes with the Ulstermen to the battle."
Then the fool goes to him and the girl along with him, and from afar he addresses Cuchulain. The Hound comes to meet him. It happened he knew by the man's speech that he was a fool. A clingstone that was in his hand he threw at him so that it entered his head and bore out his brains. He comes up to the maiden, cuts off her two tresses and thrusts a stone through her cloak and her tunic, and plants a standing-stone through the middle of the fool. Their two pillar-stones are there, even the pillar-stone of Finnabair and the pillar-stone of the fool.
Cuchulain left them in this plight. A party was sent out from Ailill and Medb to search for their people, for it was long they thought they were gone, when they saw them in this wise. This thing was noised abroad by all the host in the camp. Thereafter there was no truce for them with Cuchulain. | <urn:uuid:f75db0a6-e07d-46fc-b255-a04883ad299b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/cool/cool12c.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984791 | 724 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Health issues affect us all and determining the best means of addressing them is an important part of my work in Congress.
Congressman Garrett believes we need meaningful health care reform that decreases costs, increases accessibility and improves on what is already the best health care system in the world. The Democrats’ government takeover of our nation’s health care system does none of these things. Instead, it passes on billions of dollars in costs to taxpayers, hurts small businesses, destroys American jobs, limits access to doctors, raises premiums and violates the U.S. Constitution.
While pushing their bill through Congress, Democrats claimed that it would reduce the deficit, but this claim rests on a number of wildly unrealistic assumptions. When Democrats touted their government takeover, they used budgetary gimmicks to mask the true costs of the law, including: 1.) Paying for six years of benefits with 10 years of taxes; 2.) Raiding the Social Security trust fund of $53 billion; 3.) Double counting savings in Medicare; 4.) Disregarding the increased administrative costs of running these new programs; 5.) Double counting $70 billion in premiums for a new long-term care entitlement that will later have to be used to pay for benefits; and 6.) Relying on unrealistic Medicare cuts.
America is already starting to feel the effects of this misguided government takeover of health care and the ways in which it is fundamentally altering the relationship between citizens and government. The Democrats’ health care law is seriously jeopardizing our nation’s long-term prosperity, diminishing the vitality of our nation’s health care innovators, restricting choice and access to medical care for millions of our nation’s elderly and poor, and taxing hundreds of billions of dollars out of the economy during one of the most serious economic downturns in our country’s history. Destroys Jobs At a time when our economy is still recovering from the effects of the economic downturn, the Democrats health care law adds even more uncertainty to our already shaky economy. Many economists estimate that businesses are holding over $2 trillion in capital on the sidelines as a direct result of the costs and regulations associated with the Democrats’ health care law. Like most Americans, Congressman Garrett believes we need to be liberating American small businesses from intrusive government regulations and mandates so they can be allowed to grow and create jobs.
Constitutionality and the Individual Mandate
At its core, this law violates the Constitution of the United States. While Congress is given power under the Constitution to regulate interstate commerce, never before in the history of our country have we passed legislation requiring individuals to purchase a private – government approved – product as the price of citizenship. If Congress has this authority under the Constitution, then there is virtually no limit to Washington’s power to micromanage the lives of American citizens. Congressman Garrett believes the individual mandate moves far beyond regulating economic activity and into the realm of regulating inactivity. As Founder and Chairman of the Congressional Constitution Caucus, Congressman Garrett is determined to repeal the individual mandate, which is why he has introduced H.R. 21, the Reclaiming Individual Liberty Act, which would strip the unconstitutional individual mandate.
Replacing with Real Reform
While Congressman Garrett stands firm in his opposition to Democrats’ government takeover of health care, he does believe our country needs enact real reform to our nation’s health care system. He believes in a systematic approach to health care reform – reform that sets our nation on a prudent fiscal path without violating the U.S. Constitution. Congressman Garrett’s proposal for health care reform includes:
- Enacting real medical liability reform;
- Allowing individuals to purchase insurance across state lines;
- Allowing individuals to purchase insurance through groups and trade associations;
- Allowing small businesses to band together to purchase insurance;
- Eliminating discrimination in the tax code by allowing individuals to deduct insurance premiums.
Having voted to repeal the job-destroying health care bill at the start of the 112th Congress, Garrett understands how important it is that Republicans offer alternative solutions to reforming health care in the United States. He is committed to replacing the Democrats’ government takeover of health care with real reforms that do not come at the expense of American jobs and long-term economic prosperity. | <urn:uuid:dfc9ac4f-fecb-4ec8-908e-a05fc7638afc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://garrett.house.gov/issue/health | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939124 | 867 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The Company of Men
June 2 - July 9, 2011
Opening Reception: Friday, June 10, 6-9pm
The Company of Men, an exhibition by George Towne, is a subjective perception of masculine menʼs desirability and beauty. The artistʼs 2007 painting, Fire Island- Sunset (Study), is similar to the Romantic painting, The Monk by the Sea, by Caspar David Friedrich. Each painting represents the emphasis of aesthetic experience, whether it is the playground of Fire Island for gay men as depicted in Fire Island-Sunset (Study) or an allegory of nature versus human in The Monk by the Sea. The paintings are a catalyst for each artistʼs maturity and therefore create an existential epiphany.
Through the reflection of his sexual identity, Towne was able to develop a true passion for male portraitures. The oil paintings synthesize the polemics of a gay male gaze. Towneʼs juxtaposition of men in blunt and provocative poses with that of nudity and tenderness is aesthetically visceral. The paintings are an outlet for Towne to release a liquid flow out of a tube onto a canvas, therefore implicating his desire for these masculine men. Through an abjection of masculinity, Towne displays the social construct of how gay men are often perceived to have a masculine corporeal selfmisrelation. The release of the paint and the rendered context empower gay menʼs masculinity and deconstructs perceptions of identity and alterity.
Like Paul Cadmus before him, Towne transcends social aggregates of male beauty and desire. Subjects are positioned in confrontational and stylized mannerisms so as to legitimize menʼs sexuality and disembody male anxieties about being bare to public scrutiny. Also, Towneʼs male portraitures resemble that of Thomas Eakinsʼ male nudes created during the late nineteenth century.
Eakinsʼ depictions of male nudes went beyond that of his predecessors and created a veristic portrayal of the male body. Rather than conform to the idea of hegemonic masculinity often associated with the advent of modernity, Eakins illustrates male beauty as exposed, yet natural. Although classically trained, Eakins stripped men of their customary sophistication and depicted them in a native state.
The oil portraitures Towne creates seem to recontextualize the disparities that Eakins faced during a time when homosexuality was becoming linguistically characterized. Towneʼs paintings and drawings reflect the progression society has made in distinguishing what it is to be a contemporary gay male. The men Towne incorporates are of various ethnicities and captures the beauty and desire of each one regardless of their heritage. Each subject is placed in a setting that compliments his figurative verisimilitude.
Similar to Eakins, Towne places the men in confined and stark rooms. The confined setting establishes an intimate connection for the viewer and the viewed. The subjects are captured in states of reflection, often staring into the distance so as to accentuate the definition of their physiognomy. The esoteric reflection highlights how the GLBT community is often marginalized into subcategories of a larger culture. That is, declaring a person, a gay white male, gay black male, gay Asian male, etc. Towneʼs inclusion of all gay men allows for an amalgamation of the community as a whole and debunks any physical characteristics that may “separate” us.
Curatorial Essay by Eric Fuge | <urn:uuid:4b7e3dd8-525e-4cad-92ae-c67cfeeb1053> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.michaelmutgallery.com/sh_georgeTowne_June2011.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945654 | 721 | 1.710938 | 2 |
I am a student at Concord Carlisle High School in Massachusetts, and in December of last year, my school put on a production of musical "Falsettos" which, if you are unfamiliar with the play, is about a Jewish family in New York experiencing troubles because of sexuality. There is a woman my town who believes that this play "
Here is my response:
I wrote the letter. Jews are referred to in the bible as a nation of priests & holy people. we are told" be holy because i your God am holy." this " play" is pure smut & antithetical to bi blical values for which jews died in inquisitions holocaust etc. frankly i believe that devout moslem s & christians both of whom base major parts of their religions on our values & our torah would feel equally offended if their religion where debased in the play. i assume if this exact play would be about you , your parents , grandparents siblings, etc. & whatever religious or moral values you 'subscribe' to you or they [certainly your grandparents] would be outraged. nice of you to write ,but saying im sorry as if that is a magic wand which somehow erases the insult & the pain... it does not ,at all. furthermore to add insult to injury ,you act as judge & rule that unless we stand with the petition & mass resistance [we proudly do!] there's nothing else offensive about this , debased , debauched smut.this attitude reflects your obvious lack of elemental values which your own antecedents going back millennia adhered to.its quite immature& frankly very self centered in not being able to understand another group's pain or values. how sad. | <urn:uuid:4c9e8edc-7229-4d34-8684-b801b1833804> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rabbilevin.com/2011/03/anti-jewish-play-continued.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949662 | 349 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Social media is meant to be just that…social – media. So I’ve come up with what I think is a great list of commandments to follow if you’re new OR experienced in social media.
1 – Thou shalt add value first, and sell LAST – If you have zero people in your network, and 3 articles on your blog, telling me about a joint venture opportunity I can REALLY benefit from is not going to work. Instead, leave a nice comment that adds value to one of my articles, or better, write an article on your own site that references my article, and then send me an e-mail letting me know about it.
2 – Thou shalt listen twice as much as you talk – You have two ears, and one mouth. Please use them in that proportion! Pay attention and pick your spots to contribute. You are NOT an expert in everything, no matter what you might think.
3 – Thou shalt not spam all your contacts – Just because we are connected, doesn’t mean I’ve given you permission to spam me with every time you come up with a new idea. Ask me…and I may give you permission.
4 – Thou shalt not act like a stuck up jerk, no matter how many folks are following you on any/every platform. In fact, I would say ESPECIALLY if you have a million folks who follow you. Seth Godin is a very friendly guy who responds to email, blog posts, and other things directed at him. If Seth Godin can make time to reply to email, so can you!
5 – Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s contacts – After I meet folks in person, I often invite them to connect with me on the various social media networks I’m part of, and I am always happy to introduce you to someone who can help you, or who you can help. I always USED TO say: “If there is anyone in my network you’d like to meet, let me know and I’ll be happy to make the introduction.” I say USED TO because I had someone who went through my network and cherry picked more than 50 people to make a connection to because he thought they could all “benefit from his services.” Guess how many I introduced him to? HINT: It rhymed with hero! Instead, I now say “Let me know of 1 or 2 people in my network you’d like to meet, and what value you can add to their life, and I’ll be happy to introduce you.” That simple twists helps me weed out the spammers!
6 – Thou shall personalize every invitation I make to join any network – automated messages are for robots! Remind me how you know me and why, and it’ll help me remember why I should let you in. Especially annoying: Automated DM after following on Twitter.
7 – Thou shalt remember that 10 can be more powerful than 10000 – If someone has 10 readers to their blog, they might have a little more time to review your book or talk to you than someone who has 10000 readers and is constantly promoting the latest this or that. Therefore 10 can be WAY more powerful than 10000.
8 – Thou shalt not beg (for anything) – Don’t beg me to be your friend, to give you a link, or to connect me to so and so. Just ask nicely, tell me what value you’ll bring to the equation, and I’ll be happy to assist if I can.
9 – Thou shalt be authentic and transparent in all you do – Don’t hide anything from your readers. There’s no shame in promoting people you like, but say you like them. Also, there’s no shame in promoting stuff you believe in for a few dollars in an affiliate program, but don’t be shy about it and hide the URL in something on your domain that forwards to an affiliate link (unless you disclose it). I typically will shorten the URL if I’m doing an affiliate program, or you’ll if it’s short enough, you’ll see it.
10 – Thou shalt take the blog off the blog – Blogging and twittering is GREAT but now and then, go to a conference or two. Enjoy a cup of coffee or brew with someone local to you. Pick up the phone and call someone. Handwrite a thank you note. Take the blog off the blog.
Am I crazy?
Is this too much to ask of folks? Or are these 10 commandments of social media all you need? | <urn:uuid:fa2626e5-feab-496c-a98c-e14f7e20bb4f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.philgerbyshak.com/10-commandments-of-social-media/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948261 | 965 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Why have no lessons been released for over a year and why have there been so many delays in releasing content?
MadinahArabic.com was set up as a voluntary project. In the earlier phases we never quite realised how successful this project would be. By the grace of Allaah (God) it has been hugely popular and we decided that we need to do a number of things:
- Develop a system that would allow us to convert lessons more quickly into webpages. To give you a small idea, to create a single lesson we need to:
- Create the structure of the lesson based on the topic we are seeking to cover.
- Create the Arabic sentences / examples and grammatical terms to be used throughout the lesson.
- Create the English explanation of every grammatical term and rule being covered and translation of all the Arabic examples being covered.
- Create the hyperlinks for lesson parts and add find suitable images for examples – often upto 50 images per lesson.
- Record the sounds for all the lessons and attach these sounds to the correct example / sentences.
- To summarise, we now have approximately 50 more lessons that we have completed and are in the process of editing, we have an estimated 20 to 30 more lessons that we aim to complete in the next 6 months. Our target is to release at least one lesson a week In-Shaa’-Allaah (God-Willing) although we will attempt to do more than this.
- Whilst it often seems that we are not doing anything to update the site, please rest assured that we are doing a lot. We often don’t answer queries because we are trying to focus on delivering something for the users of the site. We are confident that you will start seeing the fruits of these efforts in the coming months In-Shaa’-Allaah (God-Willing). In fact, you may already have noticed these efforts in the new release which has included new lessons (not many but we have more to come In-Shaa’-Allaah (God-Willing). We have also developed a vocabulary application, questions application, enhanced in-lesson question types (keyboard question type, multiple choice question type, choose question type etc).
Are the lessons available in printable format?
Yes, if you click on the Printable E-book button on the menu bar , this will take you to a page where you can download PDF files of individual lessons or all the lessons on the website as a single PDF. All you need is Adobe Reader which is a free software to read PDF documents.
Can I download the website?
Yes, we have made the website available as a download. To do this, please click on the Downloadable Website link. You have the option of downloading the website with or without the sounds. The reason for this is that the website including the sounds is very large and takes a while to download so some users may prefer to download the website without the sounds as they are not expecting to listen to the sounds. We have also introduced the ability to download the files using a torrent client for faster downloading. This will become faster as more and more users download the torrent. | <urn:uuid:932fce92-9a24-42e7-b883-1cef224f520b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://madinaharabic.com/faqs.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955585 | 655 | 1.554688 | 2 |
A former employee’s lawsuit that accuses one of the state’s largest private employers of gender bias is heading to trial at a time when the issue is gaining political prominence.
Deborah Morse was an internal sales representative at Pratt & Whitney in 2007, when she first complained to her boss that she was underpaid.
In March 2008, she told Pratt’s human resources department that she had been discriminated against because she is a woman and that her boss — her former uncle by marriage — wasn’t treating her with respect, giving her chances for advancement, or paying her fairly.
Although court papers show that Pratt gave her a nearly 21 percent raise in April 2008, at the same time as 223 others, based on performance and a “market equity analysis,” Morse asked for back pay and made a discrimination complaint to the state when the company refused her request.
In 2010 she filed a federal lawsuit alleging that she was underpaid for years because she was a woman and that, when she complained, the company retaliated by reducing her responsibilities.
Pratt asked U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall to dismiss the case, but last week Hall cleared the way for a trial on the central claim of pay discrimination. The company declined to comment on the ruling or the case. Morse says a critical issue is at stake.
“I just think women need to be paid equally for the same work as men. Just because you’re a man, doesn’t mean you should be making more money,” she said. “Equal jobs, equal pay, and get the recognition of doing the equal job as well.”
Equal pay for women has been gaining political prominence recently. President Obama mentioned it in his inauguration speech last week. On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro reintroduced the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill aimed at helping women close the wage gap. And Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, on the same day Hall cleared the case to go forward, asked two commissioners to study and suggest remedies for the wage gap in Connecticut.
Hall’s ruling quotes Morse’s deposition. According to Morse’s account, when she asked her boss for either overtime or a promotion and a pay raise, he said — while his boss was sitting in the room — that “girls who had husbands with jobs did not to make as much money as men since men were the primary earners in the family.”
At the time, Morse was paid $46,451. A woman with her same job and title earned $48,456, and a man at her labor grade and title was paid $60,000, according to data released by Pratt as a result of the lawsuit.
Morse said in an interview this week that when she went to human resources, they asked her if she’d be satisfied with a 4 percent raise in a year when the raise pool was 3 percent. She said no. “Four percent of not so much is not so much,” she said. She said they would send her request up the chain, but said 10 percent was going to be the best she could do.
Pratt & Whitney, a jet engine maker based in East Hartford, does not comment on pending litigation, Communications Director Tizz Weber said.
Court documents submitted by Pratt say that in April 2008, having done a study of salaries, company officials decided 224 workers were not being paid enough based on their performance and “market equity analysis.”
In her department, Tooling Support Services, 14 people received raises at that time, ranging from 3.3 percent to 20.6 percent — and Morse’s was the largest, bringing her to $56,039. The other woman at her grade was given a 16 percent raise, bringing her to $56,209, documents showed. Pratt argued that men also received large raises.
Derek Otis, Morse’s lawyer, said: “The timing of everything reeks, and is highly suspicious.” He said the company would have a hard time explaining to a jury that she was properly paid just before a nearly 21 percent raise resulting from an “equity adjustment review.”
Morse said her raise was proof that she had been underpaid and asked that it be made retroactive for three years.
Pratt’s motion to dismiss the case said that the human resources department tried to clear up Morse’s “confusion” about what the raise meant. Human resources officials told her its investigation determined she had been treated fairly.
“Compensation did not agree that you were underpaid at all,” the company said, and her raise was based on “merit, performance and market equity analysis” as part of a companywide “equity adjustment review.”
In court documents, the company said that even if Morse could prove she was underpaid, that doesn’t mean it was from gender bias.
Morse, 55, moved to Tennessee in 2009, after her husband, Earl, a Pratt machinist for 42 years, took a buyout and retired. She had worked for Pratt for 11 years.
Morse said she has not worked since she moved. She currently lives on the widow’s portion of her husband’s Pratt pension, and her own Pratt pension. She plans to go to work as a certified nursing assistant in a nursing home soon, though she would rather return to Connecticut and her old job.
The judge noted that the size of the raise alone does not prove gender discrimination, but she wrote in her Jan. 23 ruling that a jury might conclude there was discrimination, after weighing the “husbands” comment and the lower pay for both women compared with the man with the same job title and pay grade.
Morse also said in her deposition that her boss told her he wouldn’t approve tuition reimbursement for a woman because “she would waste classes on basket weaving, knitting or cooking.”
Hall criticized Pratt for using the after-raises data to argue she was paid comparably to men — her complaint was about her earlier, lower salary — and for saying during oral arguments that workers at the same pay grade and title are not necessarily “similarly situated,” the language in the 1963 Equal Pay Act. Hall wrote that in a motion, Pratt compared Morse’s salary with the salaries of employees in the department at her pay grade and lower, and argued that she was not paid substantially less than the average.
“The court does not see how Pratt can now argue that employees within that group are not similarly situated to Morse,” Hall wrote.
Pullman & Comley attorney Daniel Schwartz, who represents employers in employment discrimination and other labor matters, blogged about the case. He wrote: “The case illustrates the difficulty for employers where there are significant disparities in pay among employees. Even if the employer adjusts an employee’s salary unilaterally, it may still be held liable for its past actions.
“What else can be done? For one, when making adjustments to an employee’s salary, an employer can make those changes retroactive to the statute of limitations time frame. It’s not a perfect solution by any means (and costly at that), but given the costs of litigation now, more money paid up front may minimize the amount spent going forward.”
Otis said the salary adjustments make this an interesting and unusual case.
“It’s not often that the defendant comes forward and says, holy crow, you’re right, you’re horrifically underpaid,” he said. “This is going to be a fun case to try.”
No trial date has yet been set.
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- -- ADVERTISEMENT -- | <urn:uuid:1a9aa752-f216-4de8-9436-65780208097b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://courantblogs.com/ct-jobs/federal-judge-allows-gender-pay-discrimination-lawsuit-against-pratt-whitney-to-proceed/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984642 | 1,828 | 1.71875 | 2 |
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dude explores the personal narratives of six self-publishing artists, featuring prints, comics, drawings, and artists’ books by David Sandlin, Jason Roy, Josh Freydkis, Lale Westvind, Maren Karlson, and Mike Taylor.
Working primarily through drawing and silk-screened editions, these artists share a common self-referential and satirical perspective, tackling everyday life idiosyncrasies with humor and personal anecdotes. Their collective observational approach explores personal revelations, documentation of their surroundings and reflections on culture, politics, and the human condition. The work in this exhibition illustrates not only an autobiographical portrait of the artist, but also a portrait of their attitude, philosophy and unique point of view.
We are presented with their intimate depictions of themselves, politics, religion, love, society, subcultures, and the artworld. The work portrays a shared impulse to narrate observations, through both positive interpretations and dissatisfied critiques. Coming from different backgrounds, cities, countries, and generations, the artists all are currently living in New York and questioning how their personal histories have influenced their lives and their work. While art making is generally insular, by working in the form of multiples (printmaking, comics, artists’ books and zines) their work, views of themselves, and perspectives are able to disseminate and courageously confront or ally with a wider audience.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dude is the sixteenth in a series of group exhibitions dedicated to providing self-publishing artists, who generally share their work through printed matter and other ephemeral media, with a platform for exhibition, experimentation and exploration outside of the printed format. Curated by Aimee Lusty.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dude is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
For more information please contact firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:26f2871d-2d88-4d9b-a4cd-a7d2fa232bd4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://make-space.tumblr.com/tagged/Exhibition | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931386 | 410 | 1.5 | 2 |
A theatrical manifesto: hands off the audience!
By Peter Marks
On "The Office" last week, the noted theater critic Dwight Schrute reacted with a look of disdain after his frequent nemesis Andy Bernard invited him to see him in a community-theater production of "Sweeney Todd."
Dwight put him off with a sly dig. The last time he went to the theater, he declared, a Cat sat in his lap.
I say, "Bravo!" Dwight. Not because he's stayed away from musical drama since "Cats," but because he stood up to one of the most annoying trends in modern theater: actors who are instructed to make us part of the play.
It happens all the time. Playwrights, directors and performers all seem to think that we want to be part of their act, that during a performance we're desperate for actors to descend into the aisles, converse with us, tussle our hair--even, occasionally, drag us back up into the footlights with them.
It occurred again the other day at a subversive little play at Studio Theatre in DC, "Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven." Repeatedly, the actors broke what's known in drama classes as the fourth wall. They sidled up to playgoers in the first row and led them onto the stage, to perform fairly meaningless little chores, like holding up the ends of a makeshift screen. There was method here: the activity was meant to mask the participation in the play of some actual actors sitting in the audience. But still, you could sense that some of the unwitting performers would rather have been left alone. And as paying customers, didn't they deserve to be?
Is it the perception of the audience's vanity, a collective need to bask in reflected limelight, that has encouraged the theater in these little stunts? Dame Edna, that ladylike Australian flame-thrower, has used this technique to funny effect over the years. Still, you sit in a prominent seat at one of her shows at your peril--and with the knowledge that her shtick often entails making mincemeat of the unfortunates she calls on.
Even when the contact promises less potential embarrassment, it can be irritating. If the Broadway experience for the revival of the musical "Hair" is going to be replicated in DC later this month, shyer patrons sitting on the aisles at the Kennedy Center are going to have to gird themselves for the moments when an actor in full hippie regalia approaches them for some uncomfortable one-on-one time.
When actors come toward me, I go into defensive posture: I avert my eyes, twist away from them in my seat. Usually, that's enough to keep them at bay. But even these tactics are not fail-safe deterrents. A few years ago a performer interrupted her show to pull my notebook and pen from my hands and toss them into a corner. Interactive, schminteractive. Can't we restore that wonderful invisible fence between us and them?
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Posted by: Cath1 | October 14, 2010 5:34 PM | Report abuse | <urn:uuid:c833eb7d-e42f-4b26-a191-3b4eadda1e6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://voices.washingtonpost.com/arts-post/2010/10/on_the_office_last_week.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965143 | 940 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Meanwhile, here's another one of the advance stories: "9 Tall Tales From Barack Obama's Memoir." That's from BuzzFeed. It's easy to read and has pictures. Example of BuzzFeed's idea of a "tall tale":
5. Obama wrote that he broke up with his New York girlfriend in part because she was white. But his next girlfriend, an anthropologist in Chicago, was also white.Is that a tall tale? You break up with someone who has a characteristic that troubles you, and then you find yourself drawn to someone else with the same characteristic. Isn't that a perfectly banal pattern for sexual relationships — e.g., the woman who leaves an abusive relationship and then gets into another abusive relationship?
6. Obama cuts out two white college roommates entirely.A memoir was selective. Told the interesting parts/the parts that fit the template. That's not a tall tale. Obama's book isn't called "Everything About Me, So Far." It's called "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance." It openly advertises its limited theme.
7. Obama wrote about his high school friends as an alienated, ne'er-do-well "club of disaffection." In fact, most members of the "Choom Gang" were "decent students and athletes" who went on to successful careers.Hello? Back in those days, being smart + alienated was the norm. Check out some books and movies from that era.
9. In his memoir, Obama mentions he missed out on playing time in high school basketball because he coach preferred players who "play like white boys do." In fact, Obama had to work hard just to make the team, and race had nothing to do with it.The willful misunderstanding there is obvious to me, and I don't even know much about basketball and the styles of playing it. But here's the relevant passage from Obama's book. Obama's high school friend "Ray" is talking first:
“Well what? Listen, why don’t you get more playing time on the basketball team, huh? At least two guys ahead of you ain’t nothing, and you know it, and they know it. I seen you tear ’em up on the playground, no contest. Why wasn’t I starting on the football squad this season, no matter how many passes the other guy dropped? Tell me we wouldn’t be treated different if we was white. Or Japanese. Or Hawaiian. Or fucking Eskimo.”In context, you can see that Obama is doing the opposite of racial grievance.
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“So what are you saying?”
“All right, here’s what I’m saying. I’m saying, yeah, it’s harder to get dates because there aren’t any black girls around here. But that don’t make the girls that are here all racist. Maybe they just want somebody that looks like their daddy, or their brother, or whatever, and we ain’t it. I’m saying yeah, I might not get the breaks on the team that some guys get, but they play like white boys do, and that’s the style the coach likes to play, and they’re winning the way they play. I don’t play that way.
“As for your greasy-mouthed self,” I added, reaching for the last of his fries, “I’m saying the coaches may not like you ’cause you’re a smart-assed black man, but it might help if you stopped eating all them fries you eat, making you look six months pregnant. That’s what I’m saying.” “Man, I don’t know why you making excuses for these folks.” Ray got up and crumpled his trash into a tight ball. “Let’s get out of here. Your shit’s getting way too complicated for me.”
Okay, so I'm officially sick of the bullshit cherry-picking from the David Maraniss bio. I'm glad I finally have the original source to look at on my own. (And I know I'm also part of the problem because I rewarded BuzzFeed with a link. One can try to play the game of blogging in an abstemious, overly pure way, but I don't play that way.) | <urn:uuid:b0671b2f-d97c-411b-8b88-afbb90b8d9bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://althouse.blogspot.com/2012/06/david-maraniss-bio-of-obama-is-finally.html?showComment=1340131911636 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973744 | 946 | 1.601563 | 2 |
For More Information Contact the Public
Kathryn Forsyth, Director
For Release: February 5, 2007
DOE Releases Review of Report on the Cost of Education
The report of the three experts retained to review DOE’s Report on the Cost of Education, released in December, is now available on the department’s web site, Education Commissioner Lucille E. Davy announced today.
The review was conducted by Dr. Allan R. Odden of the University of Wisconsin, Jospeh Olchefske of the American Institutes of Research and Dr. Lawrence O. Picus of the University of Southern California.
“The final report and the appendix generally indicate that DOE’s effort was on target in most areas,” Commissioner Davy said. “Nevertheless, it was very informative for us to have the benefit of this input and these comments from experts of this caliber. They made several recommendations that the department will take into consideration as we move forward with the process of developing a funding formula that is fair and equitable and will pass constitutional muster.”
The summary report is available here: http://www.nj.gov/njded/sff/reports/summary.pdf. The individual reports of the three experts are included in an appendix to the summary report. | <urn:uuid:63874dc7-44e3-4a18-bd75-3fdea74ee3dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.state.nj.us/education/news/2007/0205sff.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94329 | 269 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Master of Science in International Logistics
The School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE) offers eight master's degrees: the Master of Science in Industrial Engineering (MS IE); the Master of Science in Operations Research (MS OR); the Master of Science in Supply Chain Engineering (MS SCE); the Master of Science in Statistics (MS STAT); the Master of Science in Health Systems (MS HS); the Master of Science in Quantitative and Computational Finance (MS QCF); the Master of Science in International Logistics(MS IL) that is part of the executive program; and Master of Science in Computational Science and Engineering (MS CSE).
Three of these programs are interdisciplinary: MS QCF (joint with School of Mathematics, College of Business), MS STAT (joint with School of Mathematics) and MS SCE (joint with College of Computing, School of Mathematics). All proposed master's degree programs require thirty semester hours with the exception of MS IL and MS QCF (thirty-six hours) and MS HS (thirty-three hours). None of these MS programs contains a thesis option.
A student seeking a master's degree must have a bachelor's degree and typically one earned in engineering, science, mathematics, or some other field that provides an adequate background for the successful completion of one of ISyE's programs. Students having backgrounds from unaccredited degree programs or in programs that are found lacking in relative substance can expect to first take preliminary coursework in order to elevate their preparation to the level required. The prerequisite coursework for the various master's degrees includes strong performance in probability, statistics, linear algebra, and calculus.
Every MS curriculum is based on core classes offered from the School of ISyE, as well as electives offered by ISyE and other Georgia Tech schools in engineering and science. The MS SCE, MS QCF, and MS IL are professional degree programs with separate curriculums from the other regular MS degrees. | <urn:uuid:fd2cc322-2519-48b4-85f1-455464f3b83b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/colleges/coe/isye/grad/msintlog.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940347 | 404 | 1.609375 | 2 |
With tobacco sales declining in most of the Western world, cigarette companies are looking to capitalize on growing markets. According to the Los Angeles Times, many have turned to Africa to help them turn a profit, where children are quickly getting hooked on the dangerous practice.
Reporting from South Africa, Robyn Dixon of the L.A. Times writes:
A schoolboy in uniform hurries up, barely glancing at the cookie packets, lollipops and candies, grabs a Dunhill cigarette from a red box, puts a match to it and drops 22 cents on the table before hurrying away.
Moyana is at his stand, just a few yards from the school gates, most days from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Asked why he set up next to the school, he looks awkward. “I just decided this was a good spot,” he says vaguely, basking in the hot spring sun. Every few minutes, a customer tosses some change onto his table, plucks a cigarette, lights it.
Africa is Big Tobacco’s last frontier, and companies are conquering the continent stick by stick. Even a child can afford the cost of a single cigarette, 16 cents for Moyana’s cheapest brand.
As tobacco sales decline in the West due to ardent anti-smoking campaigns and flatten in Asia, cigarette companies are training their eyes on the continent of Africa because of its growing middle class and relaxed regulation on selling single cigarettes, which makes smoking both cheap and accessible.
While few people in Africa currently smoking, a growing segment of African men in several countries are taking up the unhealthy practice. The World Health Organization estimates that somewhere between 20 to 30-percent of African men in several countries smoke, and according to a 2011 study by the University of Michigan, the number of smokers in Africa “will rise from an average 16% to 22% by 2030, a massive increase given U.N. predictions that sub-Saharan Africa’s population will rise by half a billion, to 1.3 billion, by then.”
Adam Belcher, an economist with the American Society, explains the tobacco industry’s newfound interest in the continent:
“Twenty years ago, the industry wasn’t interested in Africa because they were still seeing considerable growth in other markets. As they’ve been pushed out of America, Australia, Europe, they’re moving on to the next lowest-hanging fruit,” Blecher says. “With the resources that they have and the experience they have, they will be successful if nothing’s done.”
Anti-smoking activists in Africa are pushing back against the encroachment of tobacco companies, and many governments have restricted advertisements from cigarette companies. Despite this, tobacco companies are making inroads into many nations, and without intervention, Africa’s next problem could be lung cancer. | <urn:uuid:ce1002b0-c312-4298-914d-f0fca102129c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2012/12/tobacco-companies-targeting-africa-to-sell-their-cancer-sticks-looks-like-aftz-is-working/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957026 | 601 | 1.734375 | 2 |
I was saddened to learn over the weekend that Lt. Gen. William E. Odom, USA (Ret.) – a military assistant to President Carter’s National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, head of the National Security Agency under President Reagan, and an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq – had passed away from an apparent heart attack. He was 75 years old. His obituary reveals the extent of this man’s service to his country, and hints at his intellect and independence that I had grown to admire.
I did not know Gen. Odom very well, but I valued his wisdom and insight. Whenever I encountered him at meetings or informal receptions around town, I would gravitate toward him. He graciously shared his deep knowledge of defense and foreign policy issues, accumulated over many years in the military and in Washington. He was a terrific storyteller, and always generous with his time.
In recent years, especially, I respected his enormous courage in resisting mainstream opinion with respect to Iraq. He was one of a very few individuals who spoke out against the invasion before it occurred. After Saddam’s government fell, Gen. Odom made a strong case for why an expeditious military withdrawal from the country would serve U.S. interests, while a long-term occupation would undermine them. He made such arguments well before they were politically popular. (Read or listen to his comments at a Cato policy forum last year).
I have a strong suspicion that his outspokenness did not sit him in good stead with many of his one-time friends and benefactors, but he never seemed to care. Indeed, I sensed that he took some pleasure in it. For Bill Odom, being loyal to the truth was more important than being loyal to particular persons or groups.
In that respect, at least, Gen. Odom was a rare breed in Washington. He will be sorely missed. | <urn:uuid:786829a0-2cf2-472a-ad56-621b0d7e2911> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cato.org/blog/memory-william-odom-appreciation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989337 | 395 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Howard Friedman reports that the Supreme Court has denied cert in two cases involving religion in public schools that have gotten a lot of attention in recent years. He gives the details on the two cases:
Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Nampa Classical Academy v. Goesling… In the case, the 9th Circuit upheld Idaho’s decision to bar publicly funded charter schools from using religious texts in the classroom, even for teaching of secular subjects. The 9th Circuit held that the First Amendment’s speech clause does not give charter school teachers, students, or parents a right to have such texts included as part of the school curriculum…
The Supreme Court also denied review in Johnson v. Poway Unified School District. In the case, the 9th Circuit rejected claims by a high school calculus teacher that his California school district violated his free speech rights, as well as the Establishment Clause and Equal Protection clause, when it required him to remove large banners he had posted in his classroom that carried historic and patriotic slogans, all mentioning God or the Creator.
Both are important decisions and the Supreme Court allowed them to stand. | <urn:uuid:898c8663-4c17-445e-a984-89ec944995e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2012/03/31/cert-denied-in-two-churchstate-cases/?ak_action=force_mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974421 | 232 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Training Load ~ Intensity v Volume
information in this factsheet is complementary to the information held
in the VO2max
Development and Threshold Power
You may wish to read
them before or after this factsheet to familiarise yourself with the
trilogy of pain, power and success.
As you'll see from this shot of Phillipe Gilbert in the 2008
Het Volk, If you want to maximise your success, you need to maximise
your tolerance to pain. Do you do that by training with intensity or volume?
As my all time favourite songsmiths Depeche Mode sang,
amongst other things, "Just
hang on; Suffer Well". Which probably gives you a clue
to my thoughts on the matter!
As we've discussed previously (see factsheets mentioned
above), if you are to realise your
true cycling potential (this website's
sole reason for being), you need to make best use of your genetically given
gifts, your VO2max; and increase, through hard work and structured
training, your Functional Threshold Power.
You have far more influence over one than the other. To
be a stronger, fitter, faster cyclist you need to understand the options
available to you and choose the ones that work best for you.
We are all different and will all react differently to the same
stimulus. So no cookie cutter training plans and don't buy a book
and follow it slavishly. It probably won't work.
Please take the time to read, digest, and reflect on the contents of the three
factsheets and mix and match your options to find what works for you.
When you've found the magic formula, give it 100% commitment. Just like
Just so we all have a common understanding of what we are
discussing it's best that we all have the same interpretation of the two
main terms we will be covering in this factsheet.
Volume: is the
amount of work that we do. It can be measured in hours, miles or
whatever you fancy but it has no measure of effort applied to it.
is the measure of effort applied during the volume, It can be
measured in many ways (heart rate, watts, perceived effort) but has no
measure of volume applied to it.
So if someone says I went out
and rode for five hours, it may be impressive but doesn't tell you much.
If someone else tells you they can knock out 300 watts, again you don't
get that much info on which to base a decision regarding how impressed you
If someone tells you they can
fire out 300 watts for five hours, believe me you should be mightily
impressed or extremely suspicious.
we discussed in the Functional Threshold Power factsheet, there is an inversely
proportional relationship between intensity and volume which basically
breaks down to; "The harder you do it, the less time you can do it
It won't win any
literary prizes, but it sums up exactly what we mean. As does this graphic.
The width of the red triangle shows the
intensity of the session. The width of the tan triangle denotes
the duration for which you can hold the intensity. You can't have
both. They are mutually exclusive. (see the
Load and Intensity
As we discussed above, intensity means nothing
without a volume validation. 300 watts may sound impressive, but
not if it's your maximum sprinting wattage. So we need to find a
system for designating Training Load. This is where we learn
some new acronyms; yeeeha!
Now all of this info is drawn
from the world of power meters, but it is transferrable to the "real
world". So if you haven't got a power meter please don't think
this doesn't concern you. It does.
Every ride we do has a
training load or stress it places on our body. If the load is just
higher than our previous efforts, our body will adapt and make itself
stronger. If you constantly train at the same volume or intensity,
you will plateau and become relatively slower as those around you speed
up. If you don't constantly increase your workload you will
detrain and become slower than your peers. So constantly
increasing work load it is then.
However, if you go out and
make your ride much, much harder than the previous effort, you may exceed
the capacity for your body to adapt. That leads to overtraining, injury
and illness. Your immune system will take a hammering from which
it can't help the body recover. You get run down, you can't fight
a virus, you get ill. So a gradual, increasing work load it is.
Now the question is, "How do
we determine the correct Training Load?" How do we ensure a
constantly, gradually increasing, sustainable workload?
If you ride at your
Functional Threshold Power (FTP) for one hour, you will illicit a
Training Stress Score TSS of 100. It also sets a
benchmark for an Intensity Factor IF of 1.00. All
this is covered in the FTP factsheet.
So there's our two new
acronyms. TSS & IF.
It has no matter what your
FTP is. If I ride for an hour with mine at 300 watts, Dianne rides
hers at 200 watts, and a pro holds out at around 480 watts, we will
obviously cover different distances in the said hour. But the
relative training load on our bodies will be exactly the same. For
each and every one of us, the TSS will be 100 and the IF will be 1.00.
We can now compare our totally disparate training regimes against each
other because we have a parative, relative training load term as a comparator.
We'll leave this behind for a
bit and come back later...
Volumizing the Equation
We can't ride for two hours at our FTP, otherwise it wouldn't
be our FTP would it? So to score a TSS of greater than 100 we have
to increase our volume and decrease our intensity. So we can ride
very slow, for a very long time or we can ride faster for less time.
But how can you ensure you get the right mix.
And at what intensity do we
do that volume? Do we ride around for four hours at 15kph?
Because that's volume. Or do we mix and match our sessions, doing
super intense bursts with periods of "taking our bike for a walk".
Here's some real figures...
a fantastic example of a January 1st 2008, recovery ride.
Mild volume, no speed, high cadence, done with my wife to keep me
It was 2 hours, at 21 kph,
with a TSS of 55.5 and an IF of 0.531.
So you can see that this ride
had a TSS of 23 points per hour, I'd have got a higher training load washing the
bikes rather than riding them. But that wasn't the point. It's recovery;
and recovery is good.
Here's an example of a
Christmas Eve Endurance Ride. High volume, low speed, high
cadence, done on my own to prevent getting competitive with anyone, and
boring as hell.
Five hours, at 26 kph, with a
TSS of 235 and an IF of 0.691.
This ride had a TSS of 47
points per hour.
is a full on sportive, the
Jaques Bossis, taken
in the company of 1500 others. High volume, high speed, high
cadence, high pain.
4 hours 19 minutes, at 33 kph
with a TSS of 336 and an IF of 0.882 (or 88% of 25 mile TT power, FTP).
This screamer had a TSS of 72
points per hour.
The middle figures are from a
classic, "getting in the miles" ride. This was in 2005 when I
didn't know what I know now. To me it's all old school; time for a
As I race and train with a power meter, I now have a massive
five year database of "effort required" to compete at the level I
choose. With almost fifty European sportives (49 at time of
writing) under my belt I know how "fit" I need to be to compete at
the level I choose, in the events I enter. Here's how...
This chart takes all of the
power information from all of my races and drops them in to the
relative FTP training levels at the time of the event.
In the events I've
undertaken, I've been racing at or above my Anaerobic Capacity for 9.1%
of the time and at my VO2max for 6.4%. These are big sportives
with big hills so you get lots of recovery on the big descents and from
"sheltering" in pelotons of a couple of hundred riders. You can
still be doing 40 kph while banging out less than 200 watts which is the
top of my Endurance Zone.
With the season starting in
March (I'm writing this on the 5th February), there's less than a month before
it all kicks off. Here's my training breakdown for January 2009...
The scores are;
Anaerobic Capacity 9.1%,
As you see, I've worked very
hard to mirror the efforts needed to compete in the events I've chosen.
Now I don't believe you can compete at the level you need by training with volume alone.
The reason it worked in the
old days was because that's what everyone did in the old days. In
the old days, water was the drink of choice, steak was seen as race
food, and you'd ride for six hours on one bottle and no food to toughen
you up and prepare you for competition!
You didn't need intensity
because no one else was doing it and in those days (only 15 years ago)
people used to race themselves fit in the early spring. For pro's,
Paris Nice used to be a warm up and training race. Now they go to
Australia and Qatar to get fit for Paris Nice. The world's turned
are not Pro's
We do not live the life of professional athletes. We
can't get the miles in for six hours a day, three days a week all
do not have soigneurs or a back up team to look after our every need; we do not get to lie down for
three hours after a six hour ride; we can't sleep for four hours a day and
ten at night. We can't even lie down for an hour after a six hour
ride! Someone has to walk the dog and play with the kids.
And, "after being out enjoying yourself all morning", it's probably going to be you!
In this day and age of 24
hour everything, with the demands on our time and energy much more than
those of yesteryear, we can't apply the same training principles as our
forefathers. The environment, the culture, the facilities and
technology have changed so much, why shouldn't our training?
I believe our training should reflect the events in which we
compete. We have to make the training specific to the demands we
will place on our body when we race.
This year flamme
rouge coached athletes have changed
their Winter Preparation Schedules to include more intensity and less
volume. If your longest event of the season is three hours long,
why do you need to do five hour training rides? And if you want to
beat the hour for the 25, how is four hours at 15 mph going to help you?
This year right from day one,
we've been working on intensity by building our FTP, developing our
VO2max and cranking out one hour turbo sessions combined with medium
volume road sessions going from very high intensity to village policeman
The results have been
remarkable. I'll share that with you next month when we discuss
how the TSS is plotted against time, with Chronic Training Load, Acute
Training Load and the Training Stress Balance. Three more
fantastic new acronyms to impress the non-cycling members of your | <urn:uuid:186e8180-17e5-47d8-94f3-5e88d491f21e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.flammerouge.je/content/3_factsheets/constant/intvol.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943246 | 2,628 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Rodney Mullen is an icon from my youth. He was the first to do a lot of things with a skateboard. From a public eye standpoint, he was usually overshadowed by Tony Hawk, but from a skating standpoint, the two were complementary – Hawk did a lot of power moves: high air, lots of twists and spins, while Mullen did a lot of board flips and slides and tricks that take place over a short jump.
While Hawk worked on getting a little more hang time so he could get one more rotation in, Mullen worked on getting his deck to do something different, like ride on its side or do a couple of flips with a rotation while he was in the air.
But this is not about Tony Hawk vs. Rodney Mullen.
This is about creating something.
If you're the kind of person who's into presentation, Mullen's TED talk isn't going to do anything for you. But the content of the talk? Wow.
Mullen's the kind of innovator who never needed a large stage, or a drawing board, or conventional tools. He took the thing he loved doing, and did things with it nobody'd ever done.
Because he wanted to.
Because creating is fun.
So go out, and create something. Because creating's fun. Do it for the sake of creating something. Don't worry about the rest; just go out and do it. And do it with purpose. If you're not ready to create something big, create something small. Let it grow. It doesn't matter what your scale, just create.
Image copyright © 2012 Josh Shear. Use for free, but please credit. | <urn:uuid:8adaecb9-fe63-4b89-bb4b-d3ea11f66a0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://joshshear.com/2012/09/create/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9765 | 344 | 1.625 | 2 |
By Mecca Jamilah Sullivan
I didn’t know Tayshana Murphy was gay. I’m from Harlem, and I like to think I’m tapped into important conversations among New York’s LGBTQ people of color communities. I learned of 18-year-old Murphy’s murder early on September 11th of this year—heard about it, in fact, from an auntie of mine before I heard it on the news. Both framed it as a modern-day Sophoclean tragedy, in which someone else’s vice brought on the fall of a rising star. Murphy, a promising athlete, was shot to death by three young men in a stairwell in the Grant housing projects in Harlem, or, as some like to say, “Morningside Heights.” Many news sources reported that she was mistakenly implicated in a dispute between Grant residents and a group of young men from the nearby Manhattanville projects. The news, like my auntie, reported Murphy’s name and that she was a star basketball player. They said that she ranked 16th in the nation, that she was singing and dancing just before her murder, and that she did well in school. They never said she was gay.
But then, three weeks after her murder, the Manhattan district attorney identified violent, homophobic comments and drawings about Murphy on the wall of the stairwell where she was killed. The D.A.’s indictment press release doesn’t mention the homophobic comments or the possibility that anti-gay hate played a role in the crime. Even the New York Times article on the Grant-Manhattanville feud, which quotes another 18-year-old woman as Murphy’s “girlfriend” leaves the issue of homophobic hate silent, focusing instead on Murphy’s foreshortened basketball career. One exuberantly homophobic blog even goes so far as to say that the love of basketball turned Murphy gay. The message of all these sources is clear: Murphy wasn’t really a black lesbian; she was an athlete. And her loss should be mourned accordingly.
Murphy’s story begs a set of questions that have needed answers for a while now. What are the relationships between athlete culture and LGBTQ identity for youth of color in 2011? Why does the principle of the open secret persist for youth athletes, even as institutional structures like Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, long convicted in the court of public opinion, have finally fallen away? And what are the roles of race in all of this? We know white men’s lives and deaths get wildly disproportionate media coverage, but what happens when responsible journalism means frank discussions of sexuality, outness, and homophobic violence? If Murphy had been white or male, would we know more of her story? And would more people know about her in general? The homophobic hate scrawl, deemed too derogatory to be repeated in public media, was found at the scene of Murphy’s murder well over a month ago, and still this story is conspicuously absent not only from news sources, but also from Facebook and all the other social forums many depend on to know what’s going on in the world. Even as we gather to Occupy economic hegemony across the hemisphere; even as we demand responsible criminalization of sexual violence and harassment through SlutWalk and take to task figures such as Herman Cain and the Penn State coaches; even as, just a year ago, we videoed, Tweeted, lit candles and cried to remind LGBT youth—and perhaps to convince ourselves—that epistemic, psychic and physical homophobic and misogynist violence somehow ‘Gets Better,’ at least for some; even with all that, still this black woman’s death and life are absent from the conversation. And that’s a problem, regardless of how Murphy identified.
I didn’t know Tayshana Murphy was gay, but many folks still don’t know a thing about her—that she was killed, who she was, that she had ever lived.
Reprinted with permission from The Feminist Wire. | <urn:uuid:cd2930c7-b4fd-4197-ab62-aee6afa15499> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://msmagazine.com/blog/2011/11/29/media-sports-and-black-queer-youth-tayshana-murphy-and-the-dimming-of-stars/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974405 | 852 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Very recently, Hawaii bought enough DREs to put one in every precinct and to make them the only method of voting available for walk-in voting in 2004.Given wide-spread problems with the DRE equipment,- such as the situation in Riverside County, California and this security issue with the Diebold's DRE equipment,- Milo Clark's words quoted above sound alarming to say the least. But that is not the whole story. According to Clark,
Hawaii election officials chose a machine made by Hart InterCivic, a Texas-based supplier. Normally, government procurement practices require open bidding with the sale going to the lowest bidder who meets specifications. Those specifications are set forth in some form of Request for Quotation (RFQ) or Request for Proposal (RFP). These are assumed to be open documents.
In late July, I asked Mr. Yoshina for information on the procurement process for DREs. I was told that such information was not available during the procurement process. He could tell me nothing at that time. I told him that people are very concerned and worried about DREs. A plank of the Hawaii Democratic Party platform expresses this concern.
Is it coincidence or plan that puts this purchase off to the last minute? With a primary scheduled for Saturday, September 18, does it make sense to keep the public in the dark until mid-August on this important decision?
In Florida, Georgia and Riverside County, California, electronic voting machines turned out to be part of the problem. The C.E.O. of Diebold, maker of one such machine, is quoted as saying he will do all in his power to assure that George Walker Bush is elected President in 2004.Well, those who manufacture or service electronic voting machine can almost certainly do quite a bit to make sure that the candidate of their choice emerges victorious. In fact, such an outcome may well be within their power. Yes, that may require behaviour that is both illegal and morally repugnant,- but there is no guarantee that morality or respect for the rule of law are their strong suits. | <urn:uuid:0bc05e4f-fb32-4df9-8aa8-0e6de2b0a883> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dogandponny.org/2004/09/what-will-election-day-bring-to-hawaii.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970219 | 424 | 1.78125 | 2 |
This series is going to continue with European classics from the 60s, with three in turn from a given country - Italy, Britain, Czechoslovakia, perhaps France. After Fists in the Pocket last week, the Italian theme continues with...
Il Posto, Italy, 1961, dir. Ermanno Olmi, starring Sandro Panseri, Loredana Detto
I once read a cartoon featuring an old man lying in bed, covers pulled up to his nostrils. Next to him, an obnoxiously cheerful wife hovered, chirping, “Wake up, honey! Today’s the first day of the rest of your life!” The next panel switched to a courtroom, with the sleeping man standing in the docket and a judge slamming down his gavel. A speech balloon conveyed the verdict - “Justifiable homicide, case dismissed.” A curious anecdote with which to introduce Il Posto, because the cartoon’s arch cynicism could hardly be more out of tune with Ermanno Olmi’s warm, open humanism. Yet it serves to set the film in stark relief, because Il Posto also opens with a character in bed, his eyes wide open, a mother rather than a wife calling out to him. There are times in one’s life where clichés shake off the accoutrements of familiarity and take on a fresh, glowing meaning - “oh, that’s what they meant,” we think to ourselves. If someone told Domenico Cantoni, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life,” he would know exactly what they meant, and it would not be cause for a bitter, murderous outburst but rather excitement, anticipation, worry, and a bit of fear.
In his late teens, Domenico hovers between the comfortable world of his childhood and the unknown world of adulthood. He heads off to Milan, where he will apply for a job at a corporation, but back at the provincial suburban apartment block where he lives, his parents still complain about him going out at night, and scold him when he tries to boss around his baby brother (the only time we see him as anything other than shy and deferential). Of course in the city, where his adult life is supposed to begin, he’s never seemed more the lost little boy: quietly watching the grown-ups around him, wondering anxiously when he’ll be fully initiated into their strange world, and perhaps silently fearing that once he is, the freshness he takes for granted will dissipate and disappear. For the moment, excitement reigns, and simple scenes carry a double meaning. They represent a real, specific situation, yet convey an extra resonance given the circumstances. Each step forward opens a new world, each turning of the corner breaks a bond with the past, and the buildings glimpsed out the window of a speeding trolley may as well be monuments to the new horizon, unexplored, pregnant with promise and perhaps vaguely threatening as well.
Il Posto is a film of youth; not a film of restless, ruthless rebellion nor exuberant romanticism (Fists in the Pocket and Before the Revolution would arrive on the scene soon enough) but a film of youth nonetheless. It belongs to the Italy of the early 60s rather than the mid 60s, when the tendrils of neorealism still clung to the visions of Fellini and Antonioni, when postwar Italy was still warming to the fact of its economic recovery and development, when filmmakers were moving past the portraits of desperation and a yearning for security, into the realm of dissatisfaction and alienation - indeed, Il Posto hovers uneasily between those two sensibilities, mostly conversant with the first but hinting at the approach of the second. It is a film of youth not just because Domenico Cantoni (played with a wonderful wide-eyed, unpresuming soulfulness by Sandro Panseri) is young, but because he embodies youth. Of course, no body, no thing in this film "embodies" meaning in the usual sense; each individual is him or herself first and always. In focusing so acutely on the particular, writer/director Olmi (with co-writer Ettore Lombardo) manages to illuminate the universal. These illuminations appear suddenly and unexpectedly, lightning insights into the offscreen lives of characters who might otherwise be reduced to types or extras. But this is not the lightning of a fierce thunderstorm, screaming across the sky and temporarily blinding us with its bright glare. Rather, think of an electrical storm where little hairlines flicker silently in dark corners of the sky, allowing us to peek briefly into the night, while ominous yet safely distant booms sound somewhere out there, reminding us how far the world stretches beyond our familiar horizons.
As we follow Domenico on his journey, from that early-morning bed to the clerical desk where he ends the film, we frequently pause for asides, digressions, even one full-blown divergence from his point of view. It is sometimes hard to tell when this curious observational quality of the film is Domenico’s and when it belongs to the director. Sometimes, as when an old man wanders into the corporate headquarters and asks, “Where’s the welfare office? Where do they take care of poor people?” (the receptionist shrugs comically), Domenico is standing nearby - in this case waiting for an elevator, well within earshot. On other occasions, the situation is more ambiguous; when the overbearing mother of one of the applicants (she holds his hand all the way into the room, and responds to his name during a roll call) pauses in front of an old mirror to examine herself, Domenico is in the other room; we are alone when we chuckle at her harmless vanity, and then we never see her again. And Domenico is at the far end of the hallway when two secretaries whisper about him behind his back - “How’s the new messenger?” “Cute - and so young!” Could he really have overheard them? Could he, perhaps, even have imagined this exchange?
These questions arise most prominently in the film’s most adventurous break - when we follow several of the older clerks through their nightly rituals and private lives. One old worker, hunched over his desk at work, is at home an aspiring novelist, stuffing away pages of his unfinished masterpiece while his landlady lingers in the hallway, griping about missed bills. Another employee, nearing sixty, spends his evening serenading friends and familiar customers at a bar, seemingly content with his life as an afterhours Caruso. A female clerk pretends not to see her young son lifting notes from her wallet, then brings her grief to work, weeping silently while co-workers gossip about her (repeating a banal observation in unison, they divert themselves with a game of jinx). In his wonderfully astute essay on Il Posto, Kent Jones observes that this passage “feels like an illumination of Domenico’s own perceptions: these hushed vignettes represent the lay of the adult land, as well as a set of possible futures.” So true, yet they must have their own reality as well; after all, when the old would-be novelist dies, his desk is cleaned out and the other employees discover a jumble of pages labeled “Chapter 19” among his effects. Shrugging, they discard them into the “personal” pile and then Domenico, who has been waiting for an opening, moves in. Seniority, however, quickly shifts him to the back of the room where his attention becomes fixed on the neverending mimeograph machine, the first flickerings of dread beginning to shape themselves in his consciousness.
If the film finds heart in office squabbles, personal rituals, and everyday encounters, it finds its soul somewhere else - in the early overtures and gestures of young love. Domenico first sees Antonietta (Loredana Detto) in a crowd of other applicants. Only gradually, unexpectedly, does she begin to stand out and catch his attention. From there, Olmi pursues their flirtatious friendship with tenderness and wisdom as well as a complete immersion in the fleeting feelings of a moment. And so many of these moments ring true. The French New Wavers, working contemporaneously with Olmi, were fond of expressing their enthusiasm in lists, and so I’ll follow suit: banal small talk about café food and test times, tacitly understood by both sides as preliminary maneuvers; the first move unexpectedly and earthily made by Antonietta, as she lifts her sleeve to his nose and asks if it smells like fried food; her acceptance of his awkwardness with teasing affection (“oh, you dunce!” as she sprinkles the underside of his collar with her perfume, “There now you’re like a young lady,” with an irresistible grin); Domenico’s acceptance of her teasing with a blushing joy; his silly attempt at boasting (“the math problem wasn’t hard’); walking past the random strangers and hoping they’ll think they’re a couple; Antonietta ever so gently leaning back into Domenico’s shoulder as they look through the window at a trench coat; Antonietta’s urban assertiveness and Domenico’s provincial reticence. Domenico buys her a cup of coffee; Antonietta chuckles when the bartender calls Domenico “sir”; Domenico drops his teaspoon and Antonietta shares hers with him; they’re all smiles, blushes, fleeting glances - “How is it?” “Good” “A little bitter” - Domenico grins and shakes his head a bit, as if to say “Good enough for me.” Then the construction site, bursting forth from the ground like a concrete flower unfolding in a future unknowable and exciting - Domenico and Antonietta look across it, realize they’ll be late, run down the scaffolding, cross the street, and Domenico grasps her hand to guide her through the traffic. They run, run, run - through the street, across the sidewalk, into a park, weaving through trees, across grass, still holding hands, exuberant, down a hill, where she breaks off suddenly and a cop on a bicycle accosts him, yanking the young man back down to earth with a rope tied around his ankle: “You can’t run on the grass! This is the road!”
An unseen period must intervene, with anxious worrying about work mixing with a desire to renew his crush. And then he‘s hired, he returns to the big building in the city, and they meet once again. Antonietta nonchalantly avoids and then peremptorily and casually returns his glances at the follow-up interview, but later they will wait together for her bus. “Did you wait for me?” her eyes sparkle, and it’s she who invites him to walk her to her stop; he lingers but makes no move and she smiles at him, wisely and wistfully, after making fun of his name - “Domenico suits you. Because you’re old-fashioned too.” Even such a broken tune is music to Domenico’s ears and it keeps playing all the way home - at least until he realizes, in a daze, that he boarded the wrong car and the train has left him behind, all alone on the frozen railroad. Attempts to meet up with Antonietta during lunch hours fail; they’re on different shifts; it rains and two older men hover near her, holding an umbrella aloft. Again, Domenico is in the station, left behind. Yet he runs into her when delivering a message to her building, and she invites him to the social club’s dance, where she’ll celebrate New Year’s Eve - “if my mother will let me.” Perhaps her mother doesn’t let her, perhaps she’s flaky, perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be, but Antonietta never shows up at the dance. Domenico has a good time anyway, dancing and getting drunk with people twice his age, even as he watches all the couples who take their romantic luckiness for granted embrace and kiss at the midnight hour. Then he’s back to work the next day, at his new desk, cue the mimeograph. Probably he and Antonietta will not see much more of each other; maybe a smile, a hello, from time to time, ships passing in the night and all that - eventually even the greetings will cease, the foghorns fall silent, and the ships will go their separate ways.
Yet hope remains. When he made Il Posto, Olmi had been working in just such an office for a dozen years; having made his way on industrial films and documentaries for the company, Il Posto represented his break into narrative features (it was his second such project, but first big success). Since then he has become a world-renowned director, crafting I Fidanzetti and Tree of the Wooden Clogs, among other acclaimed movies. But that's not all. Shortly after shooting wrapped, Olmi also got married. His bride? Loredanno Detto, the delightful and charming one-time-only film actress who, of course, plays Antonietta in Il Posto. Olmi has suffered chronic illnesses over the years (which often arrested his filmmaking endeavors) but in his films and very rare interviews, he continues to express a cautious openness to life. If the glow of this movie is any indication, when Loretta wakes Ermanno up in the morning, should she reiterate that opening cliché, he would greet her not with rage or despair, but with a smile - shy perhaps, certainly a little bit sad, yet a smile nonetheless.
Read "Handcrafted Cinema" by Kent Jones; watch Shooting Down Pictures - Il Posto by Lee & Uhlich.
Cross-posted at Wonders in the Dark | <urn:uuid:ac05dbb1-f218-4720-aaab-1cac3fd50615> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2010/10/sunday-matinee-il-posto.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964979 | 3,009 | 1.632813 | 2 |
- West Africa
- Sexuality - Governance
Nigerian films to undergo censorship in Uganda
Uganda government is to soon come up with a law which will subject all films entering the country to censorship. Ugandan legislators have, in recent times, expressed growing concerns over the issue of morality in the eastern African country. Last year, a proposed anti-homosexual bill was criticised by the international community. An anti-pornography bill is also under way.
A new law which will subject all films entering Uganda to censorship has been suggested by Member of Parliament Sarah Wasike Mwebaza, who has appealed to government to institute a special regulatory body to check and regulate films and the content of movies imported into the country.
"The regulation of the content of especially Nigerian movies will help rid the country of harmful practices like child sacrifices, witch craft, violence and kidnaps among others which negatively influence morals for Ugandans" she argued.
Sarah Wasike Mwebaza believes that there is sufficient evidence showing that Ugandans are copying witchcraft behaviour from Nigerian movies which are now easily accessible around the country.
Wasike who is also a member of the parliamentary committee on Gender, Labor and Social development committee said "The movies currently watched by adults and children have widely contributed to societal moral decay, They have led to increase in prostitution, murder and violence cases."
Wasike urged parents and guardians to always scrutinize movies before availing them to kids to watch. She also called upon parents, teachers to be vigilant with their children against strangers.
The minister of ethics and integrity, James Nsaba Buturo said that a bill on pornography and movies will will soon be tabled in parliament and will deal with Wasike’s concerns.
According to James Nsaba Buturo, obscene movies "will soon be history" in the country if the bill is passed because they will not be allowed in.
The anti-pornography bill seeks to impose heavy fines or a 10-year jail sentence or both on any person found guilty of dealing in pornographic materials.
The minister also warned that a section of the new legislation will deal with activities on the internet. Internet owners will be liable to 5 years imprisonment if found guilty.
Early September, Mr. Buturo had been quoted saying: "Pornography breeds homosexuality. I am happy that finally a bill to curb pornography in Uganda is out to punish the promoters of the vice. The draft bill is already in cabinet for discussion"
In October 2009, an Anti-Homosexuality Bill was tabled in parliament by member of parliament David Bahati. The proposed law sought the death penalty against people convicted of aggravated homosexuality with minors and those who knowingly infect others with HIV.
The proposed anti-homosexual legislation, which also urged parents and school authorities to disclose any child believed to be gay, was criticised by the international community, including U.S. President Barack Obama, the Netherlands, the UK, France, Canada and Sweden which threatened to cut financial assistance. | <urn:uuid:1c6bd584-408a-497b-8e8a-375e78e453f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.afrik-news.com/article18459.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96127 | 616 | 1.585938 | 2 |
When using paid caregivers, it is important to be systematic about recruiting, interviewing and hiring new caregivers because it is expensive to train a new worker and exhausting to become familiar with a new person being in your home. Furthermore, because of the unstructured environment and casual management style associated with caregiving, the job can be attractive to those people who are not qualified to work elsewhere.
1. Start out with good organization.
The first step is the hardest: be attractive to potential caregivers. Good organization with minimal chaos should already be in order. Good workers require good role models; if all they know is a sick boss who is always laid up on the sofa, they are likely to do the same. Using a binder or notebook and a friend to volunteer, write lists of your needs and preferences. Include information about your condition, treatment, medications and interests or hobbies. Also write down your expectations of a caregiver and what their responsibilities are to be.
2. Recruit students or hobbyist seeking to better themselves.
The number one most important task of any worker is to show up for work. One disadvantage to the job of caregiving is that the work environment is casual and that sometimes spills over into attendance. Therefore, to find a caregiver who will show up it is best to look where other employers look – colleges and other service organizations where people volunteer to show up.
3. Allow the caregiving job to be your worker’s secondary interest.
Since caregiving is not a career-oriented job, you may have to make compromises in order to attract quality workers to be your caregiver. When your caregivers have other interests such as school or a sports activity, make accommodations in their schedule so that they have the opportunity to achieve their goals. Consider flexibility in scheduling to be your #1 asset in managing your caregivers.
4. Diversify your help. Do not depend on any one single caregiver for your care.
This tip offers twofold advice. Firstly, if your caregiving needs require a substantial number of hours, avoid being any caregiver’s sole source of livelihood. Your health condition should not be commodity that anyone can exploit and this is more likely to happen if you do not diversify your caregivers. Secondly, with several caregivers, you are more able to accommodate the special interests your other caregivers have without having to sacrifice your care.
5. Offer your good caregivers a finder’s fee for recruiting new caregivers.
When you have a good caregiver, they often associate with other good people. Your best source for new caregivers is right in your own living room. Offer your established caregivers financial reward for locating a new hire. If the new person works out for at least six weeks, a finder's fee has been earned. If the new person doesn't work out, you lose nothing. The advantage to engaging your established caregivers in finding future coworkers is they have a vested interest in a successful outcome.
6. Try to find candidates whom you share common interests.
When hiring caregivers, it is very important for safety reasons to conduct a telephone interview before having the candidate come to your home. In the phone interview, ask the candidate what are their hobbies, interests and life goals. The manner in which the person answers this question will let you know if they are compatible with your lifestyle. It is not imperative for you to share the same interests as your caregiver but it certainly makes the time spent together more meaningful if you do have something in common.
7. Interview several candidates before making a hiring decision.
Before conducting any interviews in your home, ask a friend or family member to be present. Doing this not only ensures your safety but it also gives you another set of eyes and ears to better judge the candidates while you engage in the interview. Afterwards, ask for their observations, insights and opinions. Be mindful not to be impulsive by hiring the first candidate you meet no matter how desperate you may be for help.
Fay Mikiska is the author of the CaregivingTool: For Managing Your Caregivers and Repair & AfterCare: For Post-Op Home Recovery. She has been a caregiving recipient for over 27 years. She was born in 1956 and calls Midtown Sacramento her home. For more information about the CaregivingTool, please visit http://caregivingtool.com/. | <urn:uuid:46850c31-147f-4d23-8f2d-fe65e4515856> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://parkinson.org/Caregivers/Caregivers---On-The-Blog/August-2011 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952564 | 886 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Dirty Money: The Finance and Fossil Fuel Web
State of Power 2013
Banks and Oil not only make up the most wealthy corporations, they sit on each other's boards and their executives include some of the world's most powerful political and social institutions. An insight into one dimension of the 'Davos class.'
These infographics are produced as part of TNI's State of Power 2013 report, a visual insight into who is dominating the planet at a time of systemic economic and ecological crisis. | <urn:uuid:b2f87beb-5263-43aa-8e28-7b83ccb4e454> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tni.org/article/dirty-money-finance-and-fossil-fuel-web | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933114 | 103 | 1.5 | 2 |
NEW DREAMS FOR OLD
by Mike Resnick
Reviewed by Steven H Silver
Mike Resnick's new collection New Dreams for Old could have just as easily been named for Resnick's story "His Award-Winning Science Fiction Story." The twenty stories included in the collection have netted Resnick thirty-two award nominations and a dozen awards. Furthermore, the stories included demonstrate Resnick's wide range of writing.
Several of the stories have their basis in the Africa Resnick has described so often in works like Kirinyaga, Inferno, and other books and stories. "The Burning Spear at Twilight" looks at Jomo Kenyatta and a propaganda campaign against the British which could equally stand in for propaganda campaigns against the modern United States. "Mwalimu in the Squared Circle" sets Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere against Idi Amin in a boxing ring to demonstrate how not to take on an overwhelming force. "For I Have Touched the Sky" is one of the Kirinyaga stories, focusing on a girl, Kamiri. Her society is completely unable to deal with her intellectual gifts.
Resnick is just as capable of setting his stories in other milieus than Africa, however. "The 43 Antarean Dynasties" is a travelogue on another world, providing the tourists and readers with a history lesson of an alien civilization. "The Elephants on Neptune" is a bittersweet story of a dying breed. "Old McDonald Had a Farm" is a story about genetically modified food animals. One of the underlying themes that run through these and other stories in the book is the manner in which humans deal with other species, and, by extension, other cultures of humans. Unfortunately, the human track records presented in both Resnick's stories and in history is not the greatest.
Even where Resnick has a powerful message to present, he does it in an entertaining way. Sometimes his messages are heavy-handed, but the stories demonstrate Resnick's awareness that if a story isn't going to amuse the reader, the message the story is trying to get across will fail because the reader won't get far enough. On the other hand, sometimes, as with "The Kemosabee," humor and entertainment is Resnick's primary goal.
New Dreams for Old provides an excellent introduction to the range of Resnick's writing and his interests. His transparent writing style allows the reader to fully enjoy the wide variety of stories, which range from personal introspective tales to galaxy-spanning adventures and morality plays. This collection, with ten Hugo-nominated stories (and two winners) and three Nebula-nominated stories is a wonderful addition to any sf collection and a reminder of the vast scope of modern science fiction.
|Robots Don't Cry||His Award-Winning Science Fiction Story|
|The Elephants on Neptune||For I Have Touched the Sky|
|Travels with My Cats||Unsafe At Any Speed|
|A Princess of Earth||The Pale Thin God|
|Down Memory Lane||Mwalimu in the Squared Circle|
|The Chinese Sandman||Here's Looking at You Kid|
|Guardian Angel||The Burning Spear at Twilight|
|Old MacDonald Had a Farm||The Kemosabee|
|The Amorous Broom||The 43 Antarean Dynasties|
Purchase this book from | <urn:uuid:26984096-574a-4717-806a-6175a75954a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/dreams.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930794 | 701 | 1.617188 | 2 |
As part of Mamady Keita's mission to preserve and share the music, culture, and rhythms of the Mandingue throughout the world, he has created a system of teacher training and certification. His goal is to train teachers so that the TTM curriculum can be correctly taught by others on an ongoing basis. There are three progressive levels of Teacher Certification: TTM Teacher, TTM School Director, TTM Diploma. Click here for a list of the current certified (and in good standing) TTM Teachers, Directors, & Diploma Holders throughout the world. These teachers and directors have undergone extensive training with Mamady Keita and all have been personally certified by him. For anyone interested in pursuing certification, following is information and guidelines.
TTM Teacher Certification
Students who are interested in representing Traditional Rhythms as taught by Mamady Keïta may become TTM Certified Teachers. In order to receive this Certificate and distinction the student must pass a test given by Mamady Keïta, and prior to testing must attend one of his workshops in Guinea. TTM Certified Teachers are dedicated to teaching the program of TTM, protecting and guarding the Mandingue tradition, and representing/respecting TTM. For detailed information on becoming a TTM Certified Teacher, please download the following documents:
Certified Teachers are eligible to open a branch of Tam Tam Mandingue, Mamady’s international school of percussion, by agreeing to, and meeting, the following requirements in addition to meeting all of the Certification Guidelines & Responsibilities. Opening a TTM School requires a significantly higher level of responsibility, participation, and accountability. School Directors are expected to step into a leadership role with TTM International, to help set policies and guidelines, and to help mentor and guide other teachers or those seeking to become certified teachers.
For detailed information on TTM Schools/Directors, please download the following document:
TTM Diploma Certification
Active TTM School Directors (or TTM Certified Teachers who are in the process of opening a TTM School) are eligible to test for a TTM Diploma, the highest Certification given by Mamady Keita. This diploma represents a teacher’s knowledge and ability to teach Professional level students. The test for a TTM Diploma is the most difficult test given by Mamady. As of 2012, only 6 people in the world have achieved this status. For detailed information on TTM Diploma Certification please download the following document: | <urn:uuid:0ed3551d-07a5-4e63-9eeb-d0c16117a772> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ttmusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=259&Itemid=46 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945537 | 505 | 1.664063 | 2 |
You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘LCUs’ tag.
I’m still unpacking my head and camera from the gallivant to Algonquin Provincial Park, where these “water taxis” work the tourist trade, hauling canoes on racks to remote reaches of Lake Opeongo. Because Canada is a bilingual country, next to “water taxi” on the sign were the words “bateaux taxis,” which Elizabeth-in spite of the fact that she knows French–decided said “battle taxis,” an exciting
permutation. And they raced around the lake as if they were doing battles, lances up top at the ready, jousting against phantoms.
Less beautiful, this aluminum ”battle taxi” jousts with three weapons. The sound of these vessels racing up or down the lake was not unlike that of a floatplane, and it was easy to imagine this a floatplane traveling upside down, floats up. We paddled our own ways around the south end of the lake, but given that the park is 10 times the area of the six boros of New York, a little assistance helps. If we’d taken a not-cheap lift on a “battle taxi,” we could have camped nearer to moose and bear. Lake Opeongo is 1/3 the size of Seneca Lake and 1/6 the size of Moosehead Lake, this latter a probable future gallivant destination.
At the logging museum there I learned of “pointeaux,” very sturdy and shallow draft variation on the dory, designed by the Cockburns to
resists crushing in log-choked rivers as its crews ”unjam.”
Thanks to Jed . . . identification of the freight vessel next to Maple Grove is a 1646 LCU, one type of vessel that HaRVeST should look into for transporting the Hudson Valley’s bounty to the five boros of consumption aka “foodway corridor.” I wonder who came up with that garble, and further … how the francophone Canadians would transmogrify that. Buy an LCU here.
Yes, I was transporting dry firewood from the lakeshore here, and it’s only coincidental that it appears that my canoe has a bowsprit, and I’m sticking by that story. To digress, H. D. Thoreau said, “A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.” I’m sticking with that, too.
Less far up north–yes, this is Grouper, often written about here and still stuck just west of the Erie Canal locks in Newark, New York. Anyone know what happened with the plans to get her to Detroit this summer? This foto was taken in late July 2010.
Mystery boat #1 . . . seen at a marina in Cape Vincent, NY.
Mystery boat #2 . . . seen at a marina in Clayton. This vessel has a metal hull.
The lines would say 40′s. I don’t have any info about either of these boats.
All fotos taken by Will Van Dorp. | <urn:uuid:866c9d56-c4e3-4fe7-8066-e31c602b73ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tugster.wordpress.com/tag/lcus/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956869 | 711 | 1.625 | 2 |
As aviators or aviation enthusiasts, I hope you have heard the story of Robin Fleming, a harmless 70-year-old sailplane pilot who was arrested, charged, and interrogated by the FBI after flying his glider – in accordance with all applicable FARs, using current aeronautical charts that depict no airspace restrictions – over a nuclear power plant.
After AOPA publicized the story recently, the Darlington County Sheriff was inundated with letters, phone calls, and emails from aviators outraged by this egregious violation of an innocent pilots’ civil rights by police officers unfamiliar with the applicable aviation regulations.
The Sheriff explained that his officers were (a) responding per procedure to a call from the nuke plants’ security alleging (inaccurately) that Fleming was only 100 feet above the reactor dome; and (b) that his officers, and law enforcement generally, are not very familiar with aviation and aviation law. Protocol for nuclear security calls apparently requires that the federal authorities be notified, and that suspicious persons be detained…and in order to detain someone they must be charged with something.
The sheriff’s department was trying to do their job. A panic call from a nuke plant in the post-9/11 era is sure to get testosterone and adrenaline flowing in law enforcement types. We live in a paranoid time, where everything is suspicious and the TSA frisks elderly women to make sure they’re not suicide bombers. Our era is marked by overreaction and security theater. In that light this reaction makes sense.
That said, a glider is a threat to nobody. I’m glad law enforcement responded quickly to a panic call from a nuke plant, but common sense and cooler heads should have prevailed at the scene when it became clear that Mr. Fleming was no threat. Detaining an innocent 70-year-old flying a non-powered aircraft is completely absurd.
AOPA’s has made a goal of “ensuring that a similar incident [will] not happen again,” and they plan to “[focus] on what federal agencies can do to educate law enforcement officials about critical infrastructure sites and on airspace and jurisdiction.”
I hope the efforts work. If flying an airplane in accordance with the FARs and charted airspace is suddenly going to get me arrested, that is Very Bad News. Hopefully everyone can learn from this ugly little incident and we can avoid having any more aviators questioned by the FBI just because some panic-stricken security guard freaked out. | <urn:uuid:7f76d8ab-9407-41ff-8fd2-1d7d2a1f9b42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://airplanology.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/robin-flemin/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966732 | 522 | 1.75 | 2 |
Let’s put a stop to the controversy of steroids in sports right now—by making doping legal. “I see nothing unjust or wrong about professional athletes using chemical compounds and medical knowledge to improve their abilities and performance,” writes Kyle Munkittrick on Discover. “Let me rephrase that: there is nothing wrong with taking steroids.” Munkittrick agrees with cyclist Floyd Landis—who recently argued for legalization because, in essence, everyone’s doing it—but not for the same reasons.
When professional athletes use steroids, they don’t do it alone, in a dark basement, after getting the doping gear “from a shady fella who hangs out at the track after midnight.” It’s done as safely as possible, under the supervision of doctors, trainers, and nutritionist. Yes, “steroids are dangerous. But so are thousands of other prescription drugs for which we require doctor supervision,” Munkittrick concludes. “Let’s stop pretending that most professional athletes 1) aren’t doping and 2) that they aren’t under strict supervision when they do. Let em take ‘roids.” | <urn:uuid:a429cc14-16a3-4423-a9fa-f773ffb0860d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newser.com/story/110631/lets-just-legalize-steroids.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933199 | 253 | 1.625 | 2 |
The move, by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), appears aimed at exploiting differences in the Obama administration as it decides how to use the crisis around settlement building in Jerusalem to press Israel towards concessions to kickstart peace negotiations.
Aipac has persuaded more than three-quarters of the members of the US House of Representatives to sign a letter calling for an end to public criticism of Israel and urging the US to "reinforce" its relationship with the Jewish state.
The open letter, which has been circulating among members of Congress for the last week, says that while it is recognised that there will be differences between the two countries, they should be kept behind closed doors. "Our view is that such differences are best resolved quietly, in trust and confidence," it says.
The public differences, and revelations of Obama's private snubs of Netanyahu at the White House last week, have proved embarrassing to the Israeli leader at home, where he has been accused of undermining Israel's most important relationship.
Signatories to Aipac's letter include Steny Hoyer, the Democrat majority leader, and Eric Cantor, the Republican whip. The wording is similar to an email Aipac sent out during Netanyahu's visit, describing Obama's criticisms of the Israeli government as "a matter of serious concern" and calling on the US administration "to take immediate steps to defuse the tension with the Jewish state".
But while Aipac has for years influenced US policy on Israel, by targeting members of Congress who criticise the Jewish state, it may no longer have the same impact.
Robert Malley, a former special assistant to President Bill Clinton for Arab-Israeli affairs, said the administration's decision to take a once routine disagreement over settlement construction in East Jerusalem and turn it in to a confrontation is a reflection of the determination in the White House.
"This episode tells us more about the past and the future than the present. It's a reflection of the accumulated frustration and mistrust of the Netanyahu government by the White House. For the future, they're headed for a collision on the pace and nature of peace negotiations," he said. "We're seeing determination."
A source, who is consulted by administration officials on Israel policy but did not wish to be named, said that having chosen to take Netanyahu on, Obama cannot afford to back away. "The administration's credibility is at stake – in Israel and the Arab world. Netanyahu thought he had the better of it last year after he humiliated the president by rejecting his demand for a settlement freeze. If the administration does not follow through on this, or reaches some compromise that takes the heat off the Israelis, I suspect it will be almost impossible for us to get anything off the ground," he said.
Netanyahu appears to have been caught off guard by Obama's stand, perhaps because he was overconfident of being able to bypass the administration by relying on strong support for Israel in Congress. But while Aipac has been able to mobilise support for its letter, Congressional leaders have remained largely silent on the substance of the dispute.
That is, in part, because there is little enthusiasm for Jewish settlements. In addition, the White House has played an unusual card in suggesting that Netanyahu's intransigence is endangering US interests in the Middle East, and the lives of US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"So far, I've been surprised by how muted congressional reaction has been," said Malley. "It may come, but if the administration manages to portray this as an issue of US national interest, it may be able to sustain a level of criticism."
However, there are reports of divisions within the administration on how to proceed. The US special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, and the national security adviser, James Jones, believe Israeli governments respond to pressure. Last year an Israeli diplomatic memorandum described Jones as having told European officials that the US administration would take a hard line with the government in Jerusalem. Some officials favour mapping out a blueprint for peace and pressing both sides to adopt it.
But other officials argue against forcing Netanyahu to make compromises that will bring down his rightwing coalition. There has been criticism from Dennis Ross, who served as Bill Clinton's Middle East envoy. Now a Middle East strategist for the Obama administration, he is reported to be arguing for the White House to ease up on Netanyahu. However, Ross is regarded by some sceptics as too close to Israel. He has publicly argued that Jerusalem must remain undivided and is regarded with suspicion by the Palestinians, who saw him as effectively negotiating on Israel's behalf, rather than as a neutral mediator.
Malley says that whatever the Obama administration does it is almost certain to lead to further confrontation with the Israeli government. "The next crisis is more or less inevitable, given the diverging views of the Israeli and US governments on the pace and direction of the emerging talks," he said.
War of words
"We must not be trapped by an illogical and unreasonable demand."
Binyamin Netanyahu, below, on Obama's demand for an end to settlement construction in East Jerusalem.
"I think at one point the [Israeli] prime minister added that he did not see a distinction necessarily between building in Jerusalem and building in Tel Aviv. We disagree with that."
White House spokesman on Netanyahu's reaction to the demand for an end to settlement construction.
"We recognise that, despite the extraordinary closeness between our country and Israel, there will be differences over issues, both large and small. Our view is that such differences are best resolved quietly, in trust and confidence, as befits long-standing strategic allies."
Letter signed by members of Congress pressing the administration to avoid such public disagreements. | <urn:uuid:bb16582a-539c-4756-81d8-dfd3720d498d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/30/us-israel-lobby-pressure-obama | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969923 | 1,167 | 1.648438 | 2 |
16 September 2011
It has been years in designing, planning and building, but the wait is finally over...Africa has now opened in your backyard, and it's as wild as life gets!
Saturday, September 17, marks the official opening of Australia Zoo's new exhibit Africa, with zebra, rhino, giraffe and cheetah going on display to the public in a first for Queensland.
Australia Zoo is thrilled to showcase the array of African animals to the public. "We're really excited because we really are carrying on in my dad's footsteps," said Bindi Irwin. "Dad was so excited to one day open Africa and we are! So, we're carrying on where he left off."
Baby white rhino Savannah, who was born at Australia Zoo in April, is excited to be calling the new Africa exhibit of Australia Zoo home. As she normally does, Savannah is bounding around with mum Caballe trying to keep up behind her.
"The design of the enclosure is spectacular!" said Terri Irwin. "We've got beautiful bottle trees that we've rescued, and we've got trees, rocks and artistic design that is unsurpassed by anyone."
Savannah wasn't interested in giving Caballe any time to relax with as she ran to all areas of her new enclosure to check out the sights, smells and, for the first time, the patrons of Australia Zoo.
Stage One of Australia Zoo's Africa development plans gives visitors the opportunity to catch our FREE Safari Shuttle up to the Africa exhibit, and the chance to watch the animals interacting in the only multi-species African exhibit in Queensland.
Check out all things Africa at http://www.australiazoo.com.au/visit-us/exhibits/africa/, including all the special activities for these September school holidays!
5 Zoo Comments | <urn:uuid:5663d739-f043-4fe3-b485-8a8f0113401d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.australiazoo.com/about-us/zoo-gossip/885-Africa-is-open | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971535 | 380 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The environmentally dedicated and innovative team at Gore Design brings a new twist to custom, recycled concrete sink design with their Signature Erosion Sink. This intriguing design caught the attention of green architecture and research firm organicARCHITECT, who honored the sink in their ORGANICAWARDS for 2007.
Gore Design creative team is also proud of their commitment to sustainability. All of the pigments used in the creation of their custom, recycled concrete sinks are completely free of heavy metals and all sealers are water-based. Recycled materials and industrial byproducts, such as fly ash, are put to good use as well. In addition, they have eliminated industry standard water polishing in favor of dry polishing to save over 600 gallons of water per average project. The company notes; “..,we know that working green doesn’t mean we have to compromise the quality or artistry of our products”. Gore Design
Posted by Debra Emmons on July 19, 2008 8:45 PM
Copyright © 2005-2008 Infogate Systems Inc. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:9db092ce-013e-44ef-8307-efe4607edf3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trendir.com/green/recycled-concrete-sink-by-gore-1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955446 | 223 | 1.617188 | 2 |
By Sheila Oliver
Sadly, much of the public policy debate throughout New Jersey since January 2010 has revolved around a central and unfortunate theme: Build yourself up — at least in one’s mind — by disparaging others. It was tiresome to begin with, yet the tenor of discussion still keeps descending.
Gov. Chris Christie has, as he’s discussed his plans for education, recently mentioned how he wouldn’t have become governor had he gone to school in the Newark school system, as if his life somehow would have been destroyed had he gone to public school in great state’s largest city.
This statement is symbolic of the governor’s lack of understanding of education.
Everyone agrees that improvements are needed in our urban schools, but I’ve got news for the governor — people don’t fail simply by walking into a Newark school clasroom.
I have the honor of being a Newark public school alumna. With that background, I graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Lincoln University, then earned a Master of Science in community organization, planning and administration from Columbia University.
I’m not the only one to achieve success with a Newark diploma.
Other notable Newark alumni include elected officials such as Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-10th Dist.), Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr., former New York Mayor Ed Koch and former Rep. Peter Rodino; former U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, Maj. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Sr., dancer Savion Glover, musicians Wyclef Jean, Gloria Gaynor, Connie Francis, Sarah Vaughn and Faith Evans, actress Tisha Campbell-Martin and businessman Ray Chambers.
And let’s not forget poet David Shapiro; journalist Sid Dorfman; famous jazz club owner Lorraine Stein Gordon; writers Philip Roth, Niobia Bryant and Benilde Little; community advocates Evelyn Jacobs Ortner and Stanley Herr; educators Wilfredo Nieves and Jehuda Rienharz; crime fighter Richie Roberts, television producer Sandy Grossman and many, many others.
Solving the problems facing our poorest children failing in urban schools is more complicated than citing and disparaging the name on the school door.
Our poorest children and their families are each and every day facing social and economic problems that have a direct negative impact on the ability to learn. We will not solve the problems facing failing schools until we also confront the terrible consequences of poverty.
For instance, politicians cannot claim to be helping poor children when they’re also cutting the school breakfast program, raising taxes on working poor parents and reducing access to health care for low-income mothers and their newborn babies.
The Assembly is prepared to work hard cooperatively to advance responsible education reforms, but it’s not ready to cast blame on schools and teachers who, in many of these failing schools, are quite simply real-life heroes in their neighborhoods.
Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver is a Democrat who represents the 34th Legislative District in Essex and Passaic counties. | <urn:uuid:ef07317a-0c47-49e4-93fe-761d33bf38f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/2011/05/gov_chris_christie_wrong_on_ne.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96 | 637 | 1.664063 | 2 |
According to a piece penned by Janko Roettgers for Gigaom last Thursday, Netflix has some critical words for Canada’s broadband Internet access.
During the Merrill Lynch Media, Communications & Entertainment conference in Los Angeles, Netflix chief content officer, Tim Sarandos had the following to say:
“It’s almost a human rights violation what they’re charging for Internet access in Canada.”
He was speaking, of course, of the low bandwidth caps and high overage charges Canadian consumers are saddled with by their Internet service providers (ISPs). Netflix, being a online content company, has a vested interest in wider Internet access for everyone. Meanwhile, the ISPs are also in the content delivery business, and they control the pipes with which to do so. It’s a bit of an anti-trust thing, without the whole business of investigation or accountability.
Think of the connection to your Internet like you would the faucet in your kitchen. When you turn the tap, water is delivered much like when you pull up something on Netflix or Hulu; data is delivered in the form of a TV show or movie. This also applies to music, email, photos, and the web.
Unlike water, which in many places is charged specifically by usage, Internet access is a flat-fee based on speed, with many ISPs employing what are called data caps. So imagine, if you will, water being controlled in this fashion. You’ll only be able to turn your tap a third of the way, so it’s going to take you longer to fill up a glass, and if you use too much water, you’ll either be billed exponentially, have the tap reduced even further, or both.
Imagine paying over $100 per month to have the privilege of using 15 gallons of water before being charged even more. This is what Canada (and to a less extreme extent, the United States) is dealing with.
The problem is with service providers who are not only in the business of old media, but are also in the business of the Internet, which is slowly but surely stomping out the old media business model with Internet delivery of, well, everything. Instead of adapting, these service providers are taking what should essentially be a public utility and crippling it in order to prevent competition. Greedy and evil sums it up pretty well.
This is why it’s so important that Google gets our support for Google Fiber. If they can successfully shame the other ISPs into actually competing, we might get something good out of the deal. It’s the whole “enemy of my enemy” thing. | <urn:uuid:7eea41b7-342d-4289-8a0e-50c11a7c8d82> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inspectorelectra.com/canadas-internet-deemed-third-world/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952845 | 551 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Pegtco is recalling stainless steel pet food bowls because they contain small quantities of Cobalt-60, a radioactive material. A foreign supplier used steel containing the material. The radioactive levels in the affected products are far below State and Federal regulatory limits, according to Petco. There is no health risk to the public or to pets. In fact, the Illinois state government tested the bowls and found that “as a reference of relative risk of these items, a person who holds one of the bowls against their chest for 160 hours, roughly six and a half days, would receive a dose equivalent to a single chest x-ray.”
The products were in two cargo containers that entered the country in late May and early June. The problem was discovered by Customs and Border Protection agents during a routine import screening. One container was held at port and the contents were not distributed. The other container cleared customs and the contents were sold.
The recalled bowls include PETC-3.75C DEEP TWO TONE NOTIP 9.25″ diameter, 3.75 cup capacity stainless steel bowl with SKU number 1047493; PETC-3.5C NO-TIP SS HAMMRD BWL 9″ diameter; 3.5 cup capacity, SKU number 1386956; and PETC-7C TWO TONE NONTIP BOWL 9″ diameter; 7 cup capacity, with SKU number 1047477. You can see pictures of the recalled bowls below.
The company has removed from store shelves and from the website “all products from the supplier that produced the bowls”. If you purchased one of these products, return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. For questions, call 877-738-6742. | <urn:uuid:5ee605d4-1c3f-4b28-829e-0b68d3cc2a00> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2012/petco-recalling-stainless-steel-bowls-for-radioactivity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953609 | 364 | 1.75 | 2 |
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